Blizzards in Arendelle: The Story of the Twin Queens
by ThreeLinks
Summary: Elsa's powers weren't the only secret the King and Queen took to their grave. Queen Elsa's whole life is changed when this secret decides to come home and turns out to be her long lost identical twin sister; OC is actually onionElsa (also known as earlyElsa, conceptElsa, ducktail Elsa) It's not really OC, but it's not Elsa either. Pairings: ElsaxElise aka elsacest
1. Chapter 1: Prologue

**Chapter 1: Prologue**

* * *

On an unusually cool summer evening in 1821, Queen Idun of Arendelle gave birth to her first child, Princess Elsa. Officially, Queen Idun gave birth to a completely healthy and normal baby girl who was to become the heir to the Arendelle throne. However, it had taken several days for news of the Princess's birth to reach the ears of anyone, even the most trusted castle staff members. Rumors spread of complications during childbirth, but eventually the delay had been forgotten by all except for the royal servants who would eventually learn of Elsa's magical power over ice and snow. Yet not even these most trusted staff members were aware of what really took place during those few days following Princess Elsa's birth.

Unknown to all but the doctor and midwife, both of whom mysteriously disappeared by 1822, Princess Elsa was born with an unexpected identical twin, Princess Elise. Nothing else is known about the events following their birth except that Elsa's powers had manifested them self in front of the King and Queen. It can only be assumed that Elise's did as well and that something convinced the King and Queen to send Princess Elise away to the far northern regions of Scandinavia. How King Agdar managed to get Princess Elise out of the castle remains a complete mystery; however the why can be more easily speculated. It is possible that the King had discovered a forgotten prophecy that told of an ice sorceress who would curse the land in eternal winter. It is unknown why only Princess Elise was sent away and not Elsa or both of them as the exact text that the King was using has yet to be recovered, possibly lost at sea. It is quite possible Elise's jet black hair convinced them that she represented the dark side of the magical powers and that Elsa, with her platinum blonde hair, represented the good.

Princess Elise had been sent to a small village in the artic circle in what was actually the United Kingdoms of Sweden and Norway on the Nordkinn Peninsula. Around the year 1830, the small village had been wiped out. Archeologists discovered that it had been frozen over and its inhabitants frozen solid. It's unknown if the young Princess Elise intentionally or accidently froze the village. However, it is known that Elise fled to the North Pole over an ice bridge she created herself. There Princess Elise lived in isolation for twelve years. Princess Elise knew she had a twin sibling, but was unaware of her true identity as an Arendelle princess. It is also known that Princess Elise learned to master control of her magic and used ice creatures of her own creation to spy on the kingdoms across Europe. This is how she learned of the events of Queen Elsa's coronation. Princess Elise set off to Arendelle as soon as she heard of the Great Freeze, convinced that she was Elsa's twin sister and heir to the throne of Arendelle.

It was during a powerful blizzard in the fall of 1842 that Princess Elise finally arrived in Arendelle.

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**A/N:** I originally intended for this story to be a boring historical account of onionElsa (better known as early concept Elsa or Elise in this story) and Elsa existing in the same universe. Why? Because I like writing that kind of stuff. Since then I have decided to merge it with a Frozen sequel idea of mine in which onionElsa is actually a long lost and forgotten twin sister of Elsa who returns to Arendelle to take over. So now I intend to make this a story story with historical accounts, similar to this premise, mixed in between. I can't make any guarantees on updates, but I will try to stick to making one per week.

As of now, I am undecided if I will include any outright shipping and if I do it will most likely be elsacest (aka incest so be warned). I do plan on throwing in elsanna teases here and there. There won't be straight up elsanna, but let's just their sisterly relationship is implied to be a little outside of nature's laws.

Cover image is concept art of early Elsa designs. The one on the top left is meant to be Elise. Sorry blonde onionElsa lovers.

Also I'd like to take the opportunity to point out that if historical accounts interest you, you should try Ice on the Rhine.

EDIT: I've since decided to drop the historical accounts mixed into this story. This fic is now straight story up until the epilogue. Also, if you haven't noticed, this is now a full blown elsacest fic.


	2. Chapter 2: A Chilling Encounter

**Chapter 2: A Chilling Encounter**

* * *

It had been four months since Elsa's coronation, four months since her secret came out, four months since her life changed for the better. Elsa sat at her desk, alone in her study with nothing but the work in front of her and the candles holding the darkness of night at bay. The fireplace lay dormant to keep people away so that she could be alone. It helped that the cold didn't bother her. However, this wasn't the same Elsa that sought out isolation out on the North Mountain. Elsa had changed since the coronation incident, or the Greet Freeze as the public and press called it. She no longer isolated herself from the world. She couldn't really, not if she looked forward being a good leader anyway.

Nonetheless, after a long day of work and dealing with people, Elsa needed her alone time. Needed wasn't a strong enough word and alone wasn't exactly the right word to use either. Alone time for Elsa may or may not include Anna. On this particular night however, it did not. Anna had already gone to bed. If Anna was present, the fire would be too because the cold definitely bothered her and on this night it was definitely cold. Too cold for this time of year in fact. So the fireplace lay dormant as extra precaution to keep anyone else away.

Elsa shifted her eyes from her desk to the window. Outside held the explanation to the unusually chilly temperature. An early winter storm was raging on just on the other side of the glass. Elsa was keeping track. This was the twenty-eighth time she stopped to look out that window. During her alone time Elsa usually liked to either read or finish up on paper work from the day. Running a kingdom was in no way easy or without headache, but Elsa found getting herself engrossed in her work, _alone_, had a calming effect.

Tonight was different though. For one, her "work" consisted of going over marriage proposals. Marriage proposals were the one thing Elsa loathed working on. The thought of marriage was ridiculous to Elsa. Fear was the reason of course. Fear of physical contact with anyone. Elsa may not have isolated herself off from people anymore, but that didn't mean she had to touch them. Beyond brief touches and greetings, only Anna could sustain physical contact with Elsa without causing the young Queen to start losing control of her powers.

Fear of her powers. That's what it really boiled down to. That was the other reason Elsa couldn't concentrate on the work at hand. This was the first winter storm in Arendelle since the eternal winter and it was the coldest it had been since then as well. Elsa had to keep checking to make sure it wasn't her causing the frigid air in the room. Maybe she should have had the fireplace going after all.

She sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. Why had she chosen this night to go over these marriage proposals? She wished Anna was here. Anna made a point, multiple times throughout the day, to make sure this storm wouldn't play with her emotions. Elsa assured her that it wasn't, until now of course when Anna wasn't around. Elsa looked back down at the marriage proposals and with another sigh got back to work.

* * *

An hour had passed by. Elsa had stopped working four more times to check the storm outside. However, for the last half-hour Elsa hadn't stopped once. She was finally powering through the remaining marriage proposals without any distractions. It was a shame she still wouldn't be able to finish them all tonight. It was too late as it was. Elsa was reading over one proposal from one of the local noble families when a gust of wind had rattled the window, causing her to stop reading mid-sentence. The wind was rattling the window here and there all night, it was really nothing out of the ordinary. Yet something just didn't feel right.

Elsa put the paper down and got up from her desk with a sigh. _Thirty three_. The window rattled again on her way over to it. She stopped moving. There was funny feeling developing in the pit of her stomach. A sudden shiver ran down her spine as the wind rattled the window again with more force. Elsa rushed over to the window and leaned up to the glass. Her eyes narrowed as she stared out into the blizzard. Something was wrong. She didn't know what, but she knew there was something wrong. She could feel it…then it clicked. The storm was gaining strength which didn't make sense because not twenty minutes ago the storm was reaching its end. Of course, only Elsa could know this. It came with having snow powers.

No, this storm was building back up. Unnaturally. Elsa gulped. This would not be the first time she unknowingly set off a winter storm. But that was impossible. She had better control, she wasn't trying to bottle them up anymore, and there wasn't anything causing her that much distress. No, this wasn't her doing.

Elsa placed her palms on the chilled glass. If it wasn't her then what else could it be? The trolls were the only other source of magic Elsa could think of. They never bothered anyone though nor had any reason too, it couldn't be them. That left only one option in Elsa's mind.

"No that's impossible," Elsa whispered to herself taking a step back from the window out of reflex. Surely there wasn't anyone else cursed with powers like her own. Or could there be? She had to go check this out herself.

Turning from the window, Elsa hitched up her dress and ran out of her study without bothering with any second thoughts. It was a miracle that she managed to avoid any servants or guards on the way down to the main hall.

_Good_ _I don't want anyone else getting hurt_ _especially_…

She never got a chance to finish her thoughts as she made it within arm's reach of the front doors.

"Elsa what's going on?" Anna called out from behind, her breathing hitched from running. Elsa cringed. _Why must she be so observant?_ Elsa couldn't imagine anyone else picking up on the unnatural state of the storm outside.

"Are you okay? Are you having another episode? Remember what we talked about. I'm right here for you, Elsa," Anna said. She wrapped her arms around Elsa to make her point.

"Anna this isn't me," said Elsa. Anna looked up suddenly.

"Wait what? Then what's going on? Elsa?"

"Just stay here, Anna please," Elsa said as she moved from their embrace and towards the front doors. She yanked them open and stepped into the howling storm. The courtyard was barren, the guards forced to take shelter inside the castle walls. Snow drifts marked every corner of the castle grounds and she could barely make out the walls on the other side. Sleet and snow pelted her face. It almost bothered her. Almost. There was nothing else unusual here. She had to get a better look at this storm, maybe a view out over the fjord. She moved across the courtyard to the gate.

"ELSA!" She heard the yell coming from behind her. Stumbling out of the castle came Anna in just her nightgown, boots, and an oversized winter jacket borrowed from one the servants. She may have stumbled out, but Elsa could tell by her sisters movement that she was more than determined to stay by Elsa's side.

Elsa attempted to scream over the howling winds. "ANNA GET BACK INSIDE!"

She saw Anna open her mouth in response, but a large crash silenced her. Elsa spun around just in time to see the main gates burst open. Elsa was speechless. Anna quickly covered the distance between the two and stepped beside Elsa, her face expressed only confusion. Neither sister noticed the sudden calmness of the storm around them. They were too busy watching the contained blizzard that was now slowly entering the castle grounds through the former gate.

"Elsa w-what's happening?" said Anna as she grabbed Elsa's arm. Elsa got knocked out of her shock by the contact and Anna's worried voice. She stepped in front of Anna and mentally prepared to face whatever stepped out of that blizzard. _I must defend Anna, defend Anna, keep your sister safe_. Frost gathered at her fingertips.

She was wholly unprepared for what appeared when the storm subsided.

Elsa's eyes widened in a mix of shock and confusion as she stood face to face with…herself? The intruder that stood before them was an almost exact copy of Elsa. Her skin tone, her eyes, the light dusting of freckles across her nose, her body, everything matched Elsa's with one huge exception. That hair. The intruder had her jet black hair cut short in the front with bangs that covered her forehead. The back was spiked up in the back forming a peak. It reminded Elsa of a duck tail. Or maybe it looked more like the top of an onion? And then there was that sly grin. Elsa couldn't imagine ever making such a face.

Elsa continued staring ahead blankly, body motionless, as her mind went over what she was seeing in front of her. She could faintly hear stuttering coming from her right. "She looks just like you," Anna finally managed to get out in a whisper. The intruder continued staring at the pair, eyebrow cocked. It felt like an eternity passed by when finally Elsa attempted to say something, anything to break the uncomfortable silence.

Before she got a chance the intruder spoke first. "So I take it you are my sister. Elsa, was it?"

_She even sounds like me._

The two stunned sisters blinked and spoke in unison, "Sister?" The intruder walked forward, her grin faltering for less than a second, too fast for neither the Queen nor Princess to notice.

"So you didn't know? Well then let me introduce myself. I am Elise. Your twin sister," Elise said. She now stood directly in front of Elsa.

"Twin? You are mistaken, I don't have a twin sister." Elsa found it hard to believe what she was saying with this Elise standing in front of her. A stray thought suddenly entered her mind making her eyes go wide.

"Oh no, did I accidentally make you too?" Elsa stared down at her hands. She could feel her control slipping as panic took over. _Oh God, now I'm making evil copies of myself._

Fully aware of what was happening, Anna pressed up against her sister and grabbed her hand squeezing tight. Elsa let the warmth of Anna's contact flood through her and just like that regained control. She lifted her head, returning her gaze back forward.

Elise did not miss the exchange in front of her. "No I'm afraid I am not one of your creations. That does clear up some things I've wondered though," Elise said.

Elise then turned to face Anna. "And who is this, your royal concubine?"

Elsa wasn't sure whether to feel embarrassed or angry. She still couldn't help blushing either way. She caught Anna's face turning red, her eyes glaring at Elise. "Ahem, I'm actually her _real_ sister," Anna said. Elsa hadn't heard her speak like that since the coronation incident. Elise's face remained unchanged for a moment, possibly trying to process this new information.

"Oh you were probably adopted then."

Anna stepped forward. Elsa didn't think Anna's face couldn't get any redder. She had to intervene fast. "Adopted? Who the-"

"Anna was not adopted," Elsa interrupted finally finding the strength to speak up. She said it in her most authoritarian voice and she straightened up her posture to help convey her authority. "Are you even aware of what your 'parents' look like?" Elsa added.

"So the hair is part of the magic then? I had a feeling it was," Elise answered. "Though I am curious how we both ended up with our own shades." Elise started forward toward Anna. Anna tried backing away, but Elise quickly reached her.

"I've always known I had an identical twin sister," she said to no one in particular. "I didn't imagine I'd have another sister, certainly not one as beautiful as you," all the while cupping Anna's face gently with her hands. Elise walked around Anna looking her up and down and running her hand across her shoulder. Anna just stood still, too stunned to react. Elsa didn't know what to do. She felt a mix of emotions storming around in head; anger, confusion, disgust, fear, jealousy. Jealousy? No, that wasn't right.

_Look what she is doing to your Anna, do something you coward. _Elsa cleared her head. It was time to get to work. She took a deep breath.

"What is it that you want?" the Queen demanded, trying to keep her composure steady. She was hoping against hope her nerves wouldn't betray her authority. The slight smirk from Elise confirmed her fears.

"I'm starting to have doubts you came here with friendly intentions." Elsa narrowed her eyes at her twin who was now walking away from the stunned Anna and started to circle Elsa, a predatory look in her eyes.

Elise laughed, "You seem to know me quite well dear sister." She laughed. "Let me just get to the point. I am here for _my_ throne."

Elsa couldn't help but smile at the ridicules notion, yet her fingers were fidgeting at her side. "Your what?" Elise continued circling; Elsa's smile faltered. "You cannot be serious. I am Arendelle's rightful Queen, I was the crown princess. Not you. I don't even know you. Nobody knows you. Where did you even come from?"

Elise stopped between the pair and the wrecked gate and sighed. She turned away from the pair of sisters. Elsa couldn't see her face, but she imagined that stupid smirk of hers was gone. She just stood there, her back to the two breathing heavily. Elsa took the opportunity to look over to Anna who was now surveying the courtyard. When Anna returned Elsa's gaze, Elsa tried to give the girl a look of reassurance, but she was instead met with worried turquoise eyes.

"There's nobody else here. I think the storm is keeping them out," Anna whispered referring to the guards who should have been out here by now.

Elsa forgot about the storm, not even noticing it had stopped. She looked around her. All she could see was a perimeter of calmness surrounded by a thick wall of howling wind and snow. The perimeter centered directly on her twin. Her twin who was now muttering to herself, her hands balled up at face level.

"Elise?" Elsa took a step forward, hand reaching out. Elsa paused when Elise brought her hands down suddenly.

And with that Elise struck. Elsa dodged out-of-the-way as the ice spike shot out of the ground and missed her by a hairs length, so close it sliced through the fabric of her zouave. She wasn't exactly sure how she knew that was coming, but she just did. There was no time to dwell on it though. Elise launched several more ice spikes out of the ground in Elsa's direction. Elsa managed to dodge each one. Something clicked in her mind. An instinct took over her, one she hadn't felt since being attacked up in her ice palace on the North Mountain. Elise switched tactics, sending a blast of magic towards Elsa. Elsa threw up a wall of ice to block it, side-stepped out from its cover and launched ice spikes of her own out of the ground at the other ice sorceress. Elsa cringed at her own work, it was the same design she had accidentally shot at her coronation – a jagged wall of icicles. Her ice stopped before it could reach Elise, intercepted by a lattice-work of Elise's own. It was an impressive sight. Elsa again went on the offensive shooting blasts of magic as fast as she could at her aggressive twin. Elise blocked each one with an amused smirk as if it was too easy.

When Elsa paused to catch her breath, Elise went on the attack. She flung spears of ice in Elsa's direction. Elsa threw up a barrier of ice, but the spears pierced it stopping mere inches from Elsa's body. All the while Elise conjured up a powerful swirling wind. Hail of multiple sizes and jagged pieces of ice formed within it. Finally Elise launched the swirling hailstorm at Elsa. Elsa had backed away from her earlier barrier when the hailstorm struck. It shattered the broken wall of ice without pausing.

Elsa dropped into a crouch and quickly formed a dome around her. The hailstorm kept its pace and began to batter the dome from all sides, cracking it and forcing it to shrink. Elsa let her powers flow out into the dome in response, trying to keep it from collapsing or shattering. Elsa was holding her breath, fear tugging at her mind as she felt the dome shrinking from the relentless assault. She was pouring all her might into that dome, yet it only kept shrinking. Something finally snapped within her…Elsa had enough of this! With a yell coming from deep inside her, she sprung up off the ground, shattering the dome out. The burst of power didn't stop there, the shockwave ripped through the hailstorm causing the air around her to still and the pieces of hail to either fly out or vaporize.

Elsa glared in Elise's direction, but didn't have the time to register the emotions her twin's face was expressing. More ice spikes and jagged walls of ice sprung out of the ground at her. Elsa dodged or blocked them with relative ease. This was a lot easier than what she had just went though, her confidence was soaring. _Is that all you got ice bitch._ Ice bitch? Where did that come from, Elsa wondered to herself. It didn't matter, Elsa was doing well.

It took Elsa too long to realize what Elise was really up to. She was herding her into a trap. Elsa panicked when the realization suddenly crossed her mind, all former confidence in her dueling ability lost. The Queen reflexively stomped her foot on the ground creating a pillar of ice that shot her up to safety just mere moments before Elise could finish her off. Jagged ice caught the bottom of the Queens's dress tearing part of it to shreds. That was too close, though at least it'd be easier to move in at least.

Elsa felt the ice fall out from under her in a deafening shatter that collapsed the ice pillar. Elsa's eyes snapped shut and she screamed in terror. She tried bracing herself for impact with the hard spiky ground, but instead landed in a rather soft pile of snow. Just like in her ice palace, Elsa's body saved itself before her mind could even register what had happened.

She quickly got back up and looked for her attacker. Elise was stomping towards her, an agitated scowl covered her face. A commotion coming from the castle caught both of their attention. Elsa turned to see guards rushing out of the weakened storm-barrier towards their Queen, weapons drawn. Elise turned too, throwing up a wall of ice separating the guards from the twins. Elsa took the opportunity to check out her surroundings. Ice spikes littered the courtyard as did ice barriers imbedded with crossbow bolts.

_But where was Anna? _Elsa started panicking. Her sister couldn't be seen anywhere. "Oh no," Elsa whispered to herself.

A blue flash brought her head back to the current battle. Elsa threw up her hands as a blast of ice shot towards her. Elsa barely managed to send a blast of her own to intercept it. The two bolts of magic collided a few feet in front of Elsa. The resulting shockwave sent Elsa flying back with tiny ice shards slicing at her skin and clothes. She stumbled back up, but never reached full height before a gust of wind flew her back up against the castle wall behind her. Ice covered her feet and hands, pinning her to the way behind her. Elsa opened her eyes and found she was otherwise unhurt, though a razor-sharp piece of ice hovered menacingly in front of her throat. Elsa looked up just in time to see Elise stop directly in front of her. The agitated scowl on Elise's face had become furious with her clenched fists glowing icy blue. Elsa clenched her eyes shut in fear when Elise started to speak through gritted teeth.

"Enough playing around, Elsa. This ends-"

**Thunk!**

Elsa opened her right eye slowly as she felt the ice pinning her disappear. Her eyes snapped open when she noticed Anna standing in front of her, face stricken in fear, lute held at the ready, and Elise's unconscious body sprawled at her feet. Elsa tried opening her mouth to form words, but felt a wave of fatigue surge through her instead. The blonde felt herself slide down the wall behind her with heavy breaths. The last thing she felt before falling into unconsciousness was Anna's warm embrace.

* * *

**A/N:** Thanks for those who helped making this chapter come to be, especially Mig.


	3. Chapter 3: Reunion

**Chapter 3: Reunion**

* * *

The midday sun shined through the window of Elsa's study as she went over the events of the morning.

Elsa had woken up early, finding herself dressed in her nightgown in her bed next to Anna with all her cuts and scrapes cleaned up and bandaged. She didn't remember how she got there, but she certainly remembered the events that led up to it. Elsa had gotten out of bed early, leaving Anna undisturbed, to go deal with the aftermath of last night. Kai had informed her that her unconscious twin was taken to the dungeon after the fight and cleanup of the courtyard had started immediately. Elsa was more grateful that Kai, on his own accord, had made sure word of last night's encounter didn't leave the castle walls until Elsa was able to decide for herself. Elsa had spent the next few hours making sure the knowledge of Elise and her arrival last night never left the castle. It turned out easier than expected. The wreckage had been removed by the guards before the rest of Arendelle could take notice. The cover story for the missing gate was that it had been damaged during the storm and immediately removed to make room for a new one. The castle staff had been minimal during the night and they were on strict orders to keep their lips sealed. The guards had been more numerous, but their loyalty to the crown would keep them silent. Most importantly, no one had been killed or wounded. Still, Elsa knew word would eventually leak. This would at least give her some time to think.

Elsa couldn't stop thinking about what had happened last night, the existence of Elise more than anything else. As soon as she finished making sure her new secret stayed safe, Elsa rushed off to her deceased parent's room, which Elsa had ordered left alone three years earlier. For the rest of the morning she went through every journal and record looking for any information on Elise. When her parent's room turned up nothing, Elsa turned to the castle records for information. When that turned up nothing, Elsa gave up and returned to her study to finally eat. Around the same time, Anna had woken up and made her way straight to Elsa. Without exchanging any words, she rested her head on Elsa's lap and fell back asleep leaving Elsa pinned to the couch. Elsa had just finished up eating and planned on getting back to her daily work, however she chose to stay where she was, running her hand through Anna's strawberry hair. She decided her work could wait at least for the next twenty minutes or so.

That brought her back to present. Elsa glanced down at the sleeping girl in her lap and smiled. Kai had told her how the battle had gone down outside Elsa's point of view. The guards managed to get through the storm barrier and even got a few crossbow bolts off at Elise though she blocked them like it was nothing. Anna had the sense to get away from the dueling sorceresses and made her way over to the stables, grabbed one of Kristoff's lutes, and ran back to the battle just in time to catch Elise off guard. Speaking of Elise, it was time her and Anna talked about this. She didn't think she could figure it out alone, fortunately she wasn't alone.

Elsa gently shook her sleeping sister. "It's time to get up, sleepyhead."

"Five more minutes please," Anna mumbled below her.

"No Anna, we have to discuss what happened."

Anna finally opened her eyes and let out a sigh. "I know Elsa it's just that," Anna paused. "I want things to go back to the way they were. I mean, I finally get you back and then she shows up." Anna lifted her head off Elsa's lap and sat up straight, meeting Elsa's gaze. "I want her to go away and pretend this whole thing never happened."

"Well good morning to you too," Elsa said with a smile. The smile faded with what Elsa was going to say next. "But Anna you know we can't do that-."

"Well why not?" interrupted Anna. "She tried to kill you, she could have killed me. You heard what she was saying Elsa. She wanted to take your throne. She's no better than _Hans_," Anna said, the last word coming out with utter disgust in her voice.

Elsa turned her gaze away, Anna was right she knew. Yet something inside her disagreed with what Anna was saying. It was telling her to give Elise a chance, but why Elsa was not sure.

"I think…maybe…we should hear her out first," Elsa let the words sink in before continuing. "I mean, Anna, she is still our sister, she is family after all."

Anna stood up as soon as the word 'family' left Elsa's mouth. "That thing is not my family, Elsa!" Anna yelled. "You are my family, Olaf is my family, even Kai and Gerda are my family, but that thing down there in the dungeon is not my family!" Anna turned around crossing her arms across her chest in defiance. Elsa could tell she had struck a nerve with Anna.

Elsa was standing now too. "That 'thing' is my twin sister and her name is Elise," Elsa said raising her voice. Her hands shot up to cover her mouth as Anna gasped. Where had that come from? Elsa had not meant to say that. Anna had turned around and was staring at her, wide-eyed with confusion.

Elsa looked down and started fiddling with her hands. "Look Anna, I'm sorry, I didn't mean that, it's just that…I don't know, maybe she just reminds me of myself." Elsa paused and looked to Anna. Anna didn't say anything, giving Elsa the cue to continue her explanation. "Every time I close my eyes and think about her," Elsa closed her eyes, "I can picture her and I see the hurt in her eyes. The same hurt that I used to see in my own reflection." Elsa opened her eyes again. She could see in Anna eyes that concern was replacing anger.

Elsa continued. "I just have this feeling that this isn't the real her, that she's just a confused and hurt young woman and doesn't know what to do. Just like I was, except in my case I had someone who was there for me." This finally brought a smile to Anna's face. "As far as I can tell, Elise has no one. Do you understand Anna? Elise is my sister and it is my responsibility to help her," Elsa finished as she moved forward and took Anna's hands in her own.

"I understand Elsa, but I still don't trust her," Anna answered. She was staring at Elsa's face now. Not her face, Elsa knew, but the small cuts from last night that marred it. "So what are we doing to do now?"

"First we have to talk to her as soon as she wakes up. In the meantime, I have some work to get done. You're welcome to say here of course." Elsa smiled at her sister. "You always are." She pulled Anna into a hug. "Oh and I'll have Gerda bring up some food for you."

The two finally separated and Elsa went to her desk. It was still covered in the marriage proposals from last night plus a few newer items. On top sat an hour old request from the Royal Guard asking to replace their aging arsenal of flintlocks with percussion cap firearms. It didn't come as a surprise to Elsa that the guards wanted weapons other than crossbows that would work in snowy conditions now that another ice sorceress resided in the castle. She just hoped her dwindling treasury could afford it.

Anna had dropped back down to the couch and started going over the events of last night from her point of view making sure to cover every detail. Elsa listened intently as she got to work

* * *

A few hours had passed by. Anna had since finished her entire retelling of the previous night, ate lunch, gone to freshen up and change, and returned to Elsa's study. She now lay silent on the couch reading _The Prince_. As unusual as it was, Elsa was at least happy Anna was finally taking an interest in topics related to ruling a kingdom, though Elsa really wasn't sure if Anna was actually reading it or just pretending to. As it turned out, Elsa couldn't afford to arm the Royal Guard with better weapons. Arendelle was going broke as a result of the Great Freeze. It turned out Elsa's eternal winter had a devastating impact on Arendelle's food supply, forcing Elsa to purchase food from foreign sources at steep prices so her people could survive through winter. Then there were the other damages that resulted from her storm that Elsa felt responsible to pay for.

It was a shame because her military forces had been so neglected during her father's rule. By going over the numbers from King Agdar's rule following his death, Elsa had concluded that her father solely cared for nothing more than her and Anna's safety. Safety from internal threats that is. Taxes were kept low and the King spent the entire treasury on making sure the people were happy and well fed. That and keeping her powers a secret, Elsa had to remind herself. It all came at the cost of foreign relations and Arendelle's military power, though it did also result in a very effective secret police, one of the best in Europe in fact. Her father knew what revolutions could do to royalty and Elsa's powers added more complications, so King Agdar did what he had to do to protect her and Anna even at the cost of Arendelle's prestige. What baffled Elsa was why her father neglected external threats. She suspected that he was relying on Arendelle's relationship with Corona for protection, but that didn't stop her from theorizing about the other possibility. The possibility that Elsa's father was planning to use her as a weapon.

Elsa huffed and shook her head. She was letting herself get side tracked. The past was in the past, there was not point dwelling on it not when things had to get done in the present-

_Knock! Knock!_

"Enter," Elsa responded.

"Your majesty," Kai said opening the door. "She's awake."

Elsa and Anna both stood up and looked towards each other. It was time.

* * *

Anna and Elsa made their way to the dungeons as fast as possible. They paused outside the cell doors.

"Anna let me do the talking," Elsa said to her sister.

"Fine, but Elsa I've been wondering, what exactly is keeping her from escaping?" Anna asked. "This place didn't hold the last magical person."

Elsa winced. She was bound to find out eventually anyway. "I…I made improvements to the cell. Just as a precaution you know."

Anna's eyes narrowed at what Elsa had just implied, causing Elsa to shrink back. "Oh my God Elsa what is wrong with-"

"Enough Anna, this is neither the time nor place," Elsa cut off. Elsa straightened her posture, donned her regal mask, and turned to the guards. "Open the door then leave us."

"As you wish your majesty," the guard replied and opened the door to the cell.

Elsa entered with as much bearing as she could, but her nerves got the best of her and she swallowed as she stepped through the threshold.

_You can do this Elsa. Anna will be by your side the whole time._

The cell doors closed behind them as Anna made her way in following Elsa. Elsa spotted Elise in the far corner sitting on a cot facing the wall. Her hands and feet were clad in the improved manacles. For the first time, Elsa noticed her twins clothing. She was wearing an ice dress. This shouldn't have been a surprise to Elsa and yet it still was. It was a beautiful dress though, the way it transitioned from a darker shade of blue near the top to a lighter shade near the bottom. Not only did the colors transition, but the transparency did as well. The top was solid, but below the waist the ice fabric started gaining transparency until it was completely see-through at the hem. It was a simple dress overall though, sleeveless, high-necked, and finished with a deep blue ice sash across her waist. Elsa thought back to last night, it also had a familiar snowflake design on the front she remembered. Elsa then took notice of the ice tiara on top of her head. _How did I miss that last night?_

_Ahem!_

The sound coming from Anna caught Elsa's attention. Elsa had gotten lost staring at Elise who still hadn't acknowledged her visitors. Time to get started.

"What do you have to say for yourself?" Elsa demanded with authority. No response. "I demand an answer from you." Still nothing. It was time to switch tactics.

Elsa dropped her regal bearing and stepped towards her twin. "Elise we're here for you. We're your sisters and we're going to fix this together," Elsa said. With this Elise finally turned around. It was worse than Elsa thought. This woman was in pain, her eyes pleaded for help. She wondered if this was what she looked like to Anna when Anna tried to bring her down from the North Mountain.

"What do you want?" Elise said her voice strained. "Can't you just leave me alone."

"Oh no you don't barge into our castle and tell us to leave you alone," Anna spoke up stepping to Elsa's side. "You need to explain yourself right now." Anna stomped her foot down while pointing to the ground with her hand to visualize her command.

"Listen Elise, I just want to talk. I have so many questions for you," Elsa said as she moved to sit next to her twin. Elise turned away, so Elsa placed her hand on her shoulder. Elise jerked away from the contact.

"What do you want to know?" Elise said with obvious annoyance.

"Well to start where have you been all these years?" Elsa asked.

"You truly didn't know, did you?" Elise asked, countering Elsa's question her own.

"I'm sorry Elise, not a single person knew. I checked all the records I could. There isn't a trace of your existence..." Elsa trailed off. That probably wasn't the best word choice.

"Well I knew. I was told when I was little I had an identical twin. I asked why we were separated, but my adopted parents never told me." Elise sighed. This was a good sign; at least she hadn't been alone.

"I'm sorry to bring this up now Elise, but I think you should know that your real parents are dead. They were lost at sea a few years ago." Elsa said. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be, I already knew."

"Oh, so how did you finally find me then?" Elsa asked her mood brightening as the conversation moved from the topic of her parents.

Elise chuckled. "It wasn't hard. One day I find out the newly crowned Queen of Arendelle froze over her own kingdom. I put two and two together."

Elsa's cheeks turned pink. "Oh, right of course. Anyway back to the original question, where have you been all these years, Elise?"

"The North Pole."

"What?" Both Anna and Elsa questioned. "Who the heck would live up there?" asked Anna.

"Me, stupid, pay attention," said Elise shooting a glare at Anna. Anna glared right back. Elsa chose to ignore the exchange.

"So you and your-" Elsa started to ask.

"No, it was just me up there. I went there after my parents…" Elise trailed off. "I'd rather not talk about that right now actually." Elise stopped talking. Maybe this wasn't a good sign after all.

Elsa felt her heart clench for the poor girl. "How long? Elsa whispered.

"Since I was about eight."

Elsa felt like her heart dropped into her stomach. _Oh my God, she's been isolated just as long as me._ In that moment, Elsa couldn't tell which of them had it worse. She felt like crying for her sister. Elise just continued staring blankly over Elsa's shoulder. Elsa felt tears forming in her eyes which were going to escape if something didn't happen soon.

They sat there for a moment before Anna finally broke the silence. "If you were really up in the North Pole, how did you find out about Elsa's coronation?" Anna narrowed her eyes, unconvinced by Elise's sob story.

"You stupid girl, do you think I just sat up there twiddling my thumbs?" Elise stood straight up, her eyes practically shooting icicles at the youngest of the three.

"Exc-" Anna started.

"Shut up," Elise interrupted her voice rising. "I learned how to control my powers up there unlike you," she looked down to give a smug smirk to Elsa then turned back to Anna. "I learned how to master them, to create life even," Elise paused to marvel at her covered hands. "Creatures of ice and snow to follow my every command, to hunt for me, to fish for me, to fight for me, even to spy for me. That is how I found about your little accident," again she directed her eyes to Elsa.

As shocked and a little insulted as she was by Elise's sudden outburst, Elsa had to admit she was a little impressed.

Anna was not however. "Seems like you had a good thing going up there, too bad you didn't stay." Elsa cringed. What had gotten into her little sister, this wasn't like her at all.

"There isn't much to running a barren wasteland, plus snow creatures aren't the brightest things in the world. A lot like you actually," Elise answered. She was smiling triumphantly at Anna's building frustration. "When I found out I was twin to the crown of an actual kingdom, I couldn't skip out on the opportunity to finally rule for real."

"You aren't even half the Queen Elsa is you…you bitch!" Anna yelled back with a stomp of her heel onto the floor and clenched fists. Elsa noticed her face twisted in pure hatred. Elsa could tell Anna really, really, didn't like Elise. Maybe bringing her wasn't the best idea.

"Enough both of you," Elsa raised her voice and standing up to intervene. Elsa had redonned her regal mask without even a second thought. "Elise I don't believe you." Anna smugly smiled. "I don't believe you really came here to oust me from my throne." Anna's smiled faded into a frown.

"You don't know that. You don't even know me," Elise said turning from both sisters now.

"But I want to Elise. You're my sister. You're my family," Elsa said dropping her regal bearing again. Elise dropped her head towards the floor with a huff. "I don't know why we were separated, but that was in the past," Elsa continued. "All that matters now is that you are here and we are together. Right?"

Elise didn't answer. She continued staring at the ground, her back to the other two and her breathing shallow. It seemed like an eternity passed by between them, but it was only a few seconds.

"So is your head feeling okay? Anna is very skilled with a lute you know," Elsa asked with a light chuckle to break the tension. Elsa turned her head to give Anna a reassuring smile. Anna responded with a frown. She was acting very uncharacteristically indeed.

"It's fine," Elise answered quickly.

"I bet you are starving. Are you hungry?" Elsa continued her questioning.

"Yes."

"What would you like?"

"I don't care." Elise wasn't even pausing to think. She was giving answers as soon Elsa finished her questions.

"Are you comfortable?" Elsa immediately regretted asking that. _Stupid Elsa, of course she's not comfortable, she's locked up in cell with her hands and feet bound and has to rely on complete strangers to feed her._

"Ugh," Elise groaned and tried bringing her hands to her face. She must've forgotten about the manacles until they had already slammed into her face.

_Whack!_

"Ow!" Elise cried out. Elsa and Anna both winced.

"Oh my God Elise, are you okay?" Elsa was by her side immediately. She grabbed Elise's shoulder and turned her to face Elsa. Elise had dropped her head back to the ground and let her limbs go limp before Elsa reached her. When Elise showed no signs of resistance, Elsa slowly moved her hand to Elise's face and gently tilted it to face Elsa's own. Thankfully her face looked unscathed, but her expression was blank. Elsa gazed longingly into her eyes, never even bothering to drop her hand. Eventually those icy blue eyes focused and gazed right back at Elsa. A smile formed on Elsa's face, replacing the concern that was there before while Elsa repositioned her hand to cup Elise's right cheek. Elise's eyes never moved, but her face lightly twitched in a struggle to keep the corners of her mouth from dropping any farther.

"Elsa?" Anna whispered in the background. Her voice was a mixture of annoyance and concern.

Elise broke contact at the sound of Anna's voice. She closed her eyes and exhaled the breath she'd been holding. "I'm fine," she said turning her face away from Elsa before opening her eyes again.

Elsa wasn't sure, but she might have seen tears starting to form in Elise's eyes before she had turned away. Elsa just stood there with her hand now clenched against her chest still gazing at Elise. Her smile had made way for concern again.

"Elsa?" Anna repeated.

Elsa decided it was enough question for now. She averted her gaze from Elise and turned to face Anna when Elise spoke up again.

"Are you going to let me out of this at least?"

Elsa was glad she was no longer facing Elise. She finished turning to face Anna who was looking at her with a questioning raised eyebrow. _I know what that means._

"I…we'll..." Elsa was suddenly lost for words. "Anna and I will have to discuss it. I'm sorry," Elsa finally found her words, but they came out pained. She turned to face Elise again who had moved back to sitting facing the wall on her cot. "In the meantime I'll have food sent down to you and I'll make sure the servants take good care of you," Elsa continued. "If you need anything, make sure to ask the guards."

Elsa paused for some kind of response while watching her twin from the back. Elsa continued when she got none. "I'll have to get back to you about the restraints. We're going to go now, but I'll be back to talk to you." _Alone_ Elsa added in her mind, her eyes darting to Anna on her left. "We'll fix this. I swear it. Goodbye Elise."

Elise made no response as Elsa turned around to leave. The guards opened the cell door and let her and Anna out. Anna followed Elsa's footsteps until they left the dungeon. When they stepped out, Anna moved up to Elsa's side.

"No Elsa," Anna said.

"No what, Anna?" Elsa didn't try to hide the fact she was mildly annoyed with her younger sister's actions.

"No, you're not letting her out of those restraints." Anna got to the point and stopped walking.

Elsa kept moving. "You don't make the decisions around here, _Princess_ Anna." Elsa's bottled up annoyance with Anna from the visit with Elise was finally coming out.

"What happened to 'working this out together'?" Anna cried. Elsa stopped in her tracks and took a deep breath. Anna was right. She knew Anna was right. But…

Elsa turned around to face Anna, the anger she was feeling toward Anna had disappeared. Anna was right.

"Why?" It came out of Elsa as a pained whimper.

"She's dangerous Elsa. You saw her in there, she's practically insane. She can't be trusted," said Anna as she moved towards Elsa. "I know you think you two went through similar situations, but you're wrong." Anna was no idiot. "She's been isolated from everyone, literally Elsa. She had nobody." Anna briefly paused when she reached Elsa. Elsa wouldn't meet Anna's gaze. She couldn't, she knew Anna was right. "I don't think she even understands the difference between right and wrong. It's not like there was anyone around to teach her and who knows what her child life was like before being isolated."

"Well we should at least be there to teach her then," Elsa pleaded keeping her voice low and still refusing to look at Anna.

"Elsa look at me." When Elsa didn't respond Anna grabbed Elsa's head and forced her to look at her. "What has gotten into you?" Anna knitted her brows. "You've been acting so strange around her and here you are feeling sorry for her not even twenty-four hours after she tried killing you. If I wasn't there last night you'd be dead right now, do you understand that Elsa?"

Before Elsa could open her mouth to form a response Anna continued on. "It's like she put some kind of spell on you or something Elsa. Do you know how long you were standing there gazing into her eyes like she was your lover or something?" Elsa flushed. "It was creeping me out." Anna's eyes widen with a sudden thought. "Oh my gosh Elsa, she must've put a spell on you. We have to take you to the trolls right away."

"Wait Anna," Elsa tried interrupting but Anna grabbed her hand and tried dragging her down the hall.

"I bet she isn't even your sister, it's all an illusion to trick us."

"Anna wait."

"I figured it all out. I can see through your tricks now witch. We are-"

"Anna?"

"…going to-"

"Anna?"

"…get you-"

"ANNA!" Elsa finally got through to her younger sister. Anna stopped pulling and let go of Elsa's hand while lowering her head and shrinking away.

"Anna you're being ridiculous. I am not under any spells, I am not going anywhere, and Elise is _our_ real sister," Elsa scolded Anna. Anna was looking down at her hands. Unfortunately, Elsa knew what was going to happen next.

Anna looked back up at Elsa, her bottom lip out in a pout, her eyes wide, and her head slightly tiled to the side.

"Please Elsa," she pleaded with her hands. "Just please listen to me and keep her in those restraints until we can be absolutely sure she is no longer a threat." Anna finished her plea by wrapping her arms around Elsa's neck, pulling her down slightly so that Anna could press their foreheads together. Her eyes focused in on the small cuts on Elsa's face again. "I can't afford to lose you," Anna whispered while a few tears escaped down her cheeks.

Realization dawned on Elsa in that moment. She finally realized how horrible it must've been for Anna right now. For the second time in only a few months, Anna had come within moments of losing her forever and here Elsa was defending the person who tried doing it, all because of a stupid feeling. _Oh God Anna I'm so sorry I'm such a horrible sister. I've forgiven her for what she's done to me because I feel sorry for her, but I've ignored what she's done to you. I can't forgive her for what she put you though. _

Elsa wrapped her arms around Anna and squeezed tight producing a squeak out of her little sister. "Anna I'm sorry. I have no right to defend her after what she's put you through. She's going to remain locked up in those restrains until we're both sure she is no longer a threat." Elsa paused. "But I'm still going to try helping her." Elsa glanced at a nearby clock as she wiped the tears from Anna's face. "Right now though I have a meeting to catch."

"Thanks Els," Anna said as the two let go. "I'll see you at dinner right?"

"Of course," Elsa answered.

After parting ways with Anna, Elsa went straight to Gerda to relay her orders about Elise. From there, Elsa had to head straight to a meeting with her council that lasted the rest of the afternoon. They all knew about the incident, but Elsa was in no mood to discuss Elise with them at present. There were also pre-determined matters that had needed their attention that would take the entire meeting. Elsa assured the council that she would discuss the matter in full detail at tomorrow's meeting.

As soon as the meeting ended, Elsa was off to dinner with Anna. She was at least happy to see her again. Anna had told her what she was up to in the few hours they were separated and Elsa gave her some minor details about the meeting, but for the most part they ate in silence. When they finished, Elsa regrettably informed Anna that she was going to be preoccupied for most of the night and that she probably wouldn't see her until morning. Anna reluctantly agreed and they parted ways once again after saying their good nights.

Elsa didn't like doing it to her, but she had to get to work. Elsa took off with Kai in tow, first to her parent's room, then to her study, and finally ending up in the library. She breathed a sigh of relief when Anna wasn't there. She and Kai had grabbed every book, journal, and record she thought was relevant that would give her some kind of information about Elise. Most of the obvious records she had already gone over that morning, but she had to double-check just to make sure. She also had to go every detail to see if she could fit together pieces of this puzzle. She dismissed Kai, who had unsuccessfully insisted on helping, and got to work.

* * *

Elsa had spent hours going over the information. She had found nothing and instead rewarded with a migraine. The only thing she discovered was that the doctor and midwife who were present at her birth had both vanished from Arendelle not long after her birth. It was something at least, but she would have to inquire into their disappearance using other resources that weren't present in the castle. Elsa reached her door and opened it with a yawn. Using the moonlight that shone through the window, she dragged her feet over to her dresser and sluggishly changed into her nightgown.

She stopped at the foot of her bed when she noticed the mop of red hair that lay within it.

"You coming to bed or not?" Anna's voice rose from the bed.

"You're awake?" Elsa asked surprised.

"Yes silly, I have been since you walked into the room," Anna answered.

Elsa flushed. "Pervert." She smiled and climbed into bed.

"Oh calm down I didn't see anything." Anna lifted the covers to let Elsa slip inside. "It's not like I haven't seen you in the nude before anyway." Elsa was too tired to blush any further. When Elsa settled in, Anna scooted over and cuddled up next to her. "Plus you have a gorgeous body, it's too hard not to look," Anna giggled.

Elsa wrapped her arms around Anna and pressed her body up against Anna's, craving the warmth. "Oh shut up and go to sleep you."

"I love you Elsa," Anna whispered.

"I…" Elsa yawned. "…love you too Anna."

Silence fell over the two and within minutes they had both fallen asleep.

* * *

**A/N:** Thanks Mig and road for helping with this chapter. As of now, this is an Elsacest fic.

I want to say next update will come after Memorial Day, but I might end up trying to put it out before.


	4. Chapter 4: The Monster That I Am

**Chapter 4: The Monster That I Am**

* * *

Morning sunlight filtered through Elsa's closed eyelids willing her mind to return to the land of consciousness. As the sleep-laden haze that clouded her mind slowly dissipated, Elsa felt a wave of happiness wash over her, bringing a smile to her face in her half-sleep state. She had been dreaming, but as the haze cleared she didn't remember exactly what this dream was about. It was an amazing dream she knew, it made Elsa feel happiness, love, pleasure...her eyes fluttered open as the details became clearer. There was nobody else in it except for herself, Elsa remembered, two of herselves in fact. No wait, not two of herself...black hair...it was herself and her twin sister Elise.

Elsa's half-lidded eyes shot wide open. The sleepy haze disappeared in the same instant and the happiness she felt turned into dread. And pleasure? It wasn't just an emotional feeling though, she could feel the dampness between her legs. Elsa held her breath, refusing to move as she searched her memories for more details of the dream. Nothing, all she could remember was pleasure and Elise. A spark of hope suddenly popped up in Elsa's mind.

Elsa gathered her strength and willed her body to move and turned to her still sleeping sister by her side. She took a moment to mentally prepare herself for what she had to do. As if moving on thin ice, Elsa crawled over to Anna, slowly lifting up the blanket as she moved. Elsa paused, was she really going to do this? Yes, she had to know what had caused this feeling. Elsa continued, slowly and cautiously moving a shaking hand to the hem of Anna's nightgown. She started carefully lifting, frost starting to form on the blanket in her other hand. Her heart was beating so loud. Elsa feared it would awaken Anna, but she continued lifting. Elsa closed her eyes when she failed to find what she was looking for. She hurriedly reversed her movements, not daring to release the breath she'd been holding until returning her head to her pillow.

It was the one and only time Elsa wanted to find Anna in an aroused state and she was not. This wasn't the first time Elsa had woken up with this feeling next to Anna. It would happen once in a while when they starting sleeping in the same bed and Elsa hadn't the clue what was causing it. That is until one night she awoke to find Anna sub-consciously grinding up against her while moaning Kristoff's name. Anna didn't know of course because Elsa refused to mention the incident to her sister, instead she threw her off the bed and froze the room citing the cause of doing so on a nightmare. Elsa had hoped this was one of those incidents. It was not.

That left only one option. Elsa had dreamt about sleeping with her twin. Of course she would though, Elsa reasoned with herself. She was a messed up person from a messed up family. Her little not-so-innocent sister was a sexual deviant, as Elsa had concluded over the past four months, who humped her in her sleep and touched herself in front of paintings. Elsa herself was a witch and now an incestuous witch on top of that.

Elsa let go of the frozen bed sheets she had been grasping and hugged her arms around herself as memories of her teenage years came back to haunt her. She had determined during those years that her life was going to end burning at the stake. Recent events had proved that future false, but now Elsa was having her doubts again. She stared at the ceiling as multiple scenarios started playing out in her head—angry crowds storming the castle, an assassin slitting her throat on the throne, the fires, Anna leaving her out of disgust...

"Mmm...Elsa cold," Anna murmured in her sleep knocking Elsa out of her reverie.

Elsa suddenly realized what she was doing. The room was starting to freeze and Anna was stirring awake. She couldn't let Anna see this, she couldn't let Anna know. Elsa closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and got to work. After taking a few moments of reigning in her emotions, Elsa's breathing and pulse slowed and she finally allowed herself to open her eyes. She breathed a sigh of relief when she did. The room was now thawed.

"Nice work," came a voice to her right and Elsa realized Anna hadn't been completely asleep the whole time as she might've thought, "but that doesn't get you off the hook."

Determined to fool her sister, Elsa decided to fake annoyance. She rolled her eyes and turned her head to meet Anna's questioning stare. "It's nothing," Elsa said with just a hint of annoyance.

"Really, because you started freezing the room and you're still holding yourself." Anna propped herself up on her elbow. Her face flushed before continuing at a lower volume. "I wasn't humping you again was I?"

Elsa was removing her arms from her body from the first comment when Anna's question struck her. "What the hell Anna," she said while jumping out of bed. She made sure to keep her back to the bed so Anna couldn't see her horrified beet-red face.

"Elsa I'm really sorry, I can't help it. I just get these urges and I'm not even awake when I do it. I caught myself doing it one night and I wanted to tell you, but I was so scared of what you might think so-"

"Stop!" Elsa yelled holding her hand out behind her. "That's not the reason and yes, I already knew. Let's just stop talking about that right now though." After taking a few seconds to calm her breathing, Elsa finally turned around to face her sister. Anna was hugging her pillow and staring down at the bed with glistening eyes. Elsa wrung her hands together. "Anna, I'm sorry I yelled."

"No, it's okay, I shouldn't have brought it up. It was bad timing," Anna responded. She smiled and looked up at Elsa. "Let's go get breakfast and put this behind us. I'll go get changed."

Elsa smiled back. "Yes, that's probably a good idea." Elsa should have felt relieved that Anna had so easily dropped both subjects, but the memory of what had caused all this in the first place still nagged at Elsa. She struggled to keep her smile from faltering as Anna made her way to the door. "I'll see you in a little," Elsa finished off with a wave.

Anna left the room, but not before sticking her head back through the doorway with a wicked smile plastered on her face. "Oh Elsa, next time you want to look at my pussy, just ask okay?" she said with a wink.

Elsa could have died.

* * *

"So, what was with you this morning and what did it have to do with my you-know-what?" Anna asked once the servants left the dining room.

Elsa stopped her fork midway to her mouth. She stared at it as if it would give her the proper response. "It wasn't anything, just a bad dream," Elsa said, finally finding the words she was looking for. She had allowed herself to calm down from her morning anxiety before breakfast. It was all just a stupid dream after all. It didn't mean anything and Elsa wasn't going to be burning at the stake for being an incestuous witch. That's what she told herself at least, and it worked. Now her sister on the other hand...

"It doesn't sound like a bad dream. It certainly didn't smell like one."

Elsa glared icy daggers at Anna, cheeks turning pink from both anger, shame, and embarrassment. "This is not appropriate table-talk Anna," Elsa said through gritted teeth.

"Psshh, who cares there's nobody around right now this is our private time. Anyway, it's perfectly normal to have those kinds of dreams Elsa." Anna was smiling too wide, it was forced. "You're a grown woman after all. Anyway I have those kinds of dreams all the time." A blush crossed Anna's face and she finally let go of the forced smile, turning back to her food.

"Yeah, I know," Elsa started, but decided to shut up instead of continuing. She looked down at her plate and stirred her food. An uncomfortable silence hung over both sisters for the next few minutes, both their appetites lost.

"So, what's on the agenda for today?" Anna asked breaking the silence.

Elsa let out a sigh and turned to her smiling sister, eyebrow raised and eyes intense. Anna's smile faltered under the gaze.

"What is it, Elsa?"

"Anna, you need try to be less forgetful. You need to go into town and help with the preparations."

Anna nearly jumped out of her seat with excitement. "Preparations? Oh, I'm so excited!" She was bouncing up and down in her seat then suddenly paused. "Wait, preparations for what?"

This used to surprise Elsa, now she just rolled her eyes. "Preparations for the arrival of the American delegation tomorrow, Anna."

"Oh right, now I remember."

"As soon as we finish up here-," Elsa looked at the clock, it was quarter past nine, "-you're going to go with Kai down to the docks and get the town ready for their arrival. Now you're going to be down there most of the day so I'm probably not going to see you until bed time. Do you understand?"

"Aww, I do Elsa. Well, now I'm excited," Anna said then asked, "what are you up to Elsa?"

"I have preparations to do here and I need to meet with my council as soon as we finish up," Elsa paused, "I also wish to speak to Elise at some point today, too." She winced as she waited for her sister's reaction.

A simple "Oh," was the only response she got. Elsa was suspicious, she expected more. When it was evident that Anna wouldn't speak any more on that matter, Elsa finished up her breakfast and excused herself to go to her council meeting.

"Have fun today Anna and don't get into any trouble," Elsa said to her sister as she walked away the table. Though before Elsa could reach the door, Anna ran up and grabbed her into a hug from behind.

"I will as long as you will. Love you Els." Anna leaned closer to Elsa's ear. "And I will find out who's been plaguing your dreams sister," she whispered.

Elsa could only swallow, all color draining from her face. She broke free of Anna's embrace, mumbled a "Love you too," and made her escape down the hall. She would get back at Anna for this, but for now she had a meeting with her council to catch, a meeting about Elise.

Elsa reached the council chamber doors, but stood outside them. She was running a tad behind, but they could wait. She took a deep breath, mentally preparing herself. This was not a topic she wanted to discuss with these people, especially after this morning, but it was something she had to do. She donned her regal mask and entered the room.

The seven men that made up her council sprung and greeted her as she entered. "Good morning, Gentlemen," she greeted in return and made her way to the head of the table. The seven men remained standing until their Queen took her seat.

All seven members of Elsa's council had been appointed by her father and continued to serve Elsa well. Seated to her right was her most trusted councilman, Chancellor Count Yngvi Jakobsen. Count Jakobsen served as her father's Chancellor for most of her life and ruled Arendelle as regent between her parents' death and her coronation. As Crown Princess, Elsa had participated in council affairs during Jakobsen's regency, however her rule wasn't absolute until being crowned Queen. Chancellor Jakobsen was the closest thing to a head of government Arendelle had as well as the closest thing to a family friend of the royal family. To his right sat the Minister of Treasury, Torbjørn Kristoffersen, the oldest member of Elsa's council and in Elsa's opinion the most level-headed and calm. To his right sat the Minister of Commerce and Minister of Agriculture, Halstein Vinter and Caj Nielson. Both were appointed around the time of Elsa's accident and were extremely skilled at their jobs. Elsa knew those two were responsible for her father's success at keeping Arendelle prosperous and well fed and they continued to do so into Elsa's reign. To Elsa's left sat the Foreign Minister, Hallvard Hansen, the newest member of her council. He was appointed just a few months before her father's death and was by far the most liberal member of Elsa's council. As a result, he often butted heads with Chancellor Jakobsen and Minister Kristoffersen, both of whom were strict conservatives. To his left sat the Minister of Army, General Gulbrand Holt, and finally Minister of Navy, Admiral Anved Hoffman. Neither military officer got along with the other, General Holt was a Norwegian nationalist and Admiral Hoffman was a strict Arendelle royalist. Despite his nationalistic views, General Holt's loyalty to the crown was unquestionable and excelled at cost-effective management of the army. His ill relationship with Admiral Hoffman was also useful at keeping the armed forces from ganging up on her other councilmen.

Elsa sat in silence, waiting for one of them to start the meeting. Finally, Admiral Hoffman spoke up.

"Is it true your majesty?" he asked generally intrigued. The councilmen seemed to lean in closer as if the answer was going to be hard to hear.

"It is," she responded never once dropping her bearing. The men leaned back in their seats. "Elise looks exactly like me, there is no doubt she is my identical twin sister." The last part drew a low murmur from the councilmen.

"Twin?" Chancellor Jakobsen asked leaning in close to Elsa, his eyes were wide open in disbelief.

"Yes, Chancellor, my twin." Her secrecy measures were better than she thought if not even they already knew. Elsa continued before anyone else could speak up. "My main concern right now though is the legitimacy of her claim to my throne. Well Chancellor?"

Elsa was generally shocked when he laughed in her face. "You can't be serious your majesty," he said after his initial outburst then paused to gauge the Queens reaction. Elsa's face remained stoic. "Queen Elsa, Arendelle law of succession states that the first-born is to be next in line to the throne. The survival rate of twins making it to adulthood is so low that the idea of twins was never considered when the laws were written. It was expected that only one would survive to adulthood. I would guess though that the first out of the womb would hold the position of next-"

"We don't know who was first," Elsa interrupted. "And I don't think we ever will," she added her voice slightly lowering. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught Minister Kristoffersen raise an inquiring eyebrow.

"Your majesty," Admiral Hoffman spoke up, "the laws of succession don't even apply here. You were the Crown Princess, you were chosen to be your father's successor." Admiral Hoffman had been close friends with her father, Elsa had to remind herself. He still blamed himself for his death.

"You seem to be very sure that we'll never know the details of your birth, Queen Elsa," Minister Kristoffersen interrupted with his typical calm demeanor. "I wonder why that is?" Elsa knew where he was going with this. He had never approved of her fathers' fixation on funneling funds to secret projects, especially after he learned what the money was being spent on four months ago—keeping her powers a secret. It was the one exception from his calm level-headed personality.

Elsa wasn't the only one who knew where the Minister of Treasury was going with this. Admiral Hoffman was on his feet before Elsa could answer Kristoffersen. "What are you implying old man?" His voiced was raised, but not yet shouting.

"Perhaps I am wondering how many more secrets his late majesty was covering up with Arendelle's treasury." Minister Kristoffersen's face was as emotionless as Elsa's. Admiral Hoffman's face on the other hand was turning red with rage.

It was General Holt who had spoken up before Admiral Hoffman could explode. "The business of the royal family is none of your concern Minister Kristoffersen." Not a single person in the room could have predicted the Army officer would stand up for his naval counterpart. Even Elsa almost let her regal mask slip in surprise. Something must have been troubling him greatly. The shock was certainly enough to convince Admiral Hoffman and Kristoffersen to both back down so General Holt could continue.

"There is a pressing matter here your majesty." He cleared his throat before continuing. "Is she a threat to Arendelle?" The rest of her council looked to each other in confusion. Arendelle Castle was really good at keeping secrets, though how General Holt knew about Elise's powers when the rest of her council was clueless, Elsa could only speculate.

Elsa swallowed. She had hopped she wouldn't have to explain this to them and dreaded the inevitable 'is she a threat' question. Elsa spent the next few minutes going over the events of that night so her entire council was fully up to speed. She made sure to mention the lack of evidence in the records of Elise's existence.

"None of this leaves the room do you all understand?" Elsa finished. They all nodded in affirmation and she turned to General Holt. "As for you question General Holt, I..." Elsa hesitated before continuing. "...at this present time I am still evaluating Elise." She knew this wouldn't put her council at ease. To be honest her council might not even believe that Elise was truly her twin. All they had was Elsa's word that they looked identical.

"Then perhaps you should consider modernizing our aging arsenals," General Holt countered. Elsa knew it, he had been talking with the Captain of her Royal Guard, that's how he knew about Elise's powers. In that case he might be more inclined to believe Elsa's word about Elise now that he had talked with another witness. "Arendelle cannot afford another unexpected winter your majesty."

"I think a more immediate concern is the arrival of the American delegation," said her Foreign Minister.

"I agree," said Chancellor Jakobsen. "Your majesty what do you plan on doing with her while the Americans are visiting? As you must be aware, this visit is extremely important to us."

"Elise will remain in her cell while I continue to evaluate her-" Elsa started.

"Queen Elsa, the Americans won't look too kindly at you if they find out you've been holding your own sister in the dungeons during their stay and God forbid one of the other kingdoms finds out," Foreign Minister Hansen interrupted.

Elsa's mask finally broke. She turned to the Foreign Minister with a snarl. "She's my sister. I'll do what I want," Elsa snapped and stared down at the table below her before she could even register Minister Hansen's shocked face as she realized what she had just done. A silence engulfed the room, no one dared to speak. Elsa had prided herself at remaining fully composed at every council meeting no matter how heated things got. This was the first time she ever lost control. However, she had no idea what had made her snap. It had just happened like an instinct. Maybe Elise was just a really touchy subject for her. In a way so was Anna, but her council knew better than to use Anna against her.

She felt Chancellor Jakobsen's hand on her shoulder now. "Elsa," he whispered so low that Elsa could barely hear it. She looked up to the councilmen staring off in different directions, none of them, but Jakobsen dared to look at her. Then she noticed that she could see their breath.

Elsa composed herself and re-donned her regal mask. She cleared her throat and began. "Under no circumstances are the Americans or anyone to find out about Elise until I have determined that she is no longer threat."

A chorus of "Yes, your majesty" rose up from the councilmen. Only then did she allow the room to return to normal temperature. Hopefully they got the message that Elise was off-limits too. "There is one item I wish to discuss on this subject before we move on. Elise is my twin sister whether you believe me or not and we may have been separated all these years, but she is back now and is part of this family." Elsa paused to let them speculate. "Henceforth, Elise will be known as Princess Elise of Arendelle. Any objections or concerns?" She didn't wait for anyone to speak up. "Good, now let us adjourn this meeting and get to work on the preparations for tomorrow. You all know what you have to do. You're dismissed." Elsa stood up to go.

* * *

Hours later, Elsa stood in front of the door to Elise's cell. She had worked all day following the council meeting to make sure Arendelle was prepared for tomorrow, even working through dinner to get to this moment now just as evening was arriving. She had cleared the guards when she first arrived and now she was alone with nothing, but the keys to Elise's restraints and a burning lamp in her clenched fists.

She had been standing in front of this door for five minutes now, completely still, not staring at it, but staring through it. Finally, she found her courage and stepped forward. She moved as swiftly as she could through the cell door and closed it behind her before her nerves could get the better of her. Elsa didn't bother donning her regal mask for this visit. In fact she had left her crown back in her room and opted to change into her original ice dress, snowflake-infused braid and swept-back bangs included.

There she was. Elise was sitting on her cot again, facing out the small reinforced window of her cell. Elsa hung the burning lamp and stepped towards her sister.

"Good evening, Elise." Unlike her last visit, this time her twin did turn around though with a scowl transforming into surprise in the process. Elsa figured Elise wasn't in the mood for visitors, but hadn't been expecting the Queen to show up either. She wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not though. Still unsure, Elsa gave her a soft smile as she waited for a response, but the keys rattling in her fidgeting hands caught Elise's attention instead. Elise looked back up at Elsa with an inquiring eyebrow raised.

"Good evening to you too, your majesty," Elise finally responded dropping the eyebrow and giving a small smirk.

"Oh no, you can just call me Elsa, no formalities here please."

"Well, in that case you can just call me Elise," Elise quickly said. Elsa's smile faltered a little from confusion. _What is she talking about...oh right now I get it, the princess thing._ Elsa let out a giggle which she managed to politely cover with her hand.

"I bet you were surprised when they started calling you Princess Elise, huh?" Elsa followed up with, but Elise was unamused. Elsa coughed into her hand and continued, "Since you're my sister and all I ordered the guards and servants to make sure to call you Princess Elise on the account that you're a princess and uh..." Elsa trailed off and swallowed. Elise's face had gone from unamused to impatient. Elsa knew so because she recognized the facial expressions as her own.

"What is this visit about? Are you here to let me go?" Elise asked folding her arms as her impatience grew.

"No, not exactly," Elsa whimpered as silently as she could. "I ugh...w-wanted to spend some quality time with my sister," Elsa said more loudly with an unconvincing smile.

"In a prison cell?" Elise asked.

"Well yes," Elsa answered before allowing the question to sink in. When it hit, Elsa started waving her hands back and forth in front of her. "No, no, no. You and only you are responsible for being locked up in here. This was your doing." Elise glared up at her.

"So," Elsa started moving the conversation along as she took a seat next to Elise, "how are your hands and feet feeling?"

"Are you serious?" Elise answered with an annoyed sigh.

"Yes, I am. I thought maybe you would like to take a break from them." Elsa held up the keys in front of her growing smile. Elise was so wide-eyed in excitement that Elsa didn't even need to ask.

"Ah, ah, ah!" Elsa teased hiding the keys behind back and grinning widely. "First you have to swear to behave," Elsa said pointing her other hand at Elise.

Elise's mouth hung open in disbelief at Elsa's sudden change in behavior. But Elsa's change of behavior was only skin deep. On the inside she was terrified. Terrified that Elise would take her playful behavior the wrong way. She was even more terrified though that letting Elise out of her restraints would turn out to be a very bad idea. And then worst of all, Anna would find out.

"So, do you swear it?" Elsa questioned bringing the keys back out from her back. She could feel her confidence slipping as she waited for Elise's answer.

She didn't have to wait long though. Elise shot her hands up in front of Elsa and pleaded. "Yes, I swear, now please take these damned things off."

Elsa gulped and drew a deep breath. _Here goes nothing._ She slowly brought the keys down to the manacles around her hands and unlocked them. Elsa was so tense that their impact on the ground startled her. She cowered away from Elise who she assumed was responsible for the noise. Elsa tried relaxing when she found Elise too busy coddling her freed hands instead of attacking her. Elsa shifted and leaned down so she could free Elise's feet.

When Elsa leaned back up, she found Elise eyeing her oddly. "Uh hi," Elsa blurted out. It was the only thing she could think of. Elise burst into a fit of laughter. Elsa tried laughing along, but found herself too confused.

When Elise finally recovered she explained herself. "You know for a Queen, you're pretty awkward." Elsa flushed and Elise changed her tone. "Thanks anyway for letting me out of these though," she trailed off turning her eyes away from Elsa and out the window to the twilight of sunset. Elsa followed her eyes out the window.

"It's no problem," Elsa said pausing to silently watch the fading light before continuing. "Yeah, I guess I am a little awkward around people when I'm not acting as the composed and regal reclusive Queen of Arendelle." Elsa drew her legs onto the cot and pulled her knees to her chest. "To be honest, I don't socialize with anyone other than Anna. I'm not really sure how to socialize with people outside of official balls and state parties. I never had a chance to learn. I was too busy studying or trying to keep my powers hidden from Anna."

"Hidden?" Elise questioned, finally turning to look at Elsa. Elsa could see her genuine curiosity through the glow from the lamp. An idea suddenly popped up in her head. It was about time Elise learned about Elsa's own past.

"Elise, let me tell you a story," Elsa began. Elsa spent the next hour and a half retelling the story of her life to her twin making sure to cover the most important details that she could. Elise was listening intently without interrupting once, her face remained stoic the entire time. By the time Elsa had reached the end, tears were flowing freely down her cheeks despite the happy ending. Elsa had never told anyone this in such detail.

"Wow," was all Elise could say when Elsa finished. Elsa was now sobbing with her head buried in her knees. "That must have been horrible sitting in that room for thirteen years listening to your sister always on the other side. How does one even cope with that?"

"I didn't," Elsa looked up at Elise who was just staring off at a spot on the floor. She was wringing her hands together. "Sometimes I just thought about ending it myself, ending this monster that I am." Elsa sniffled. "But I could never do that to Anna especially after what happened to our parents."

"Monster that I am," Elsa could hear Elise repeat under her breath. Several minutes passed by as the twins sat in silence. Elsa composed herself and her sobs faded into light sniffling and hiccups. Neither girl neither noticed nor cared that the entire cell was covered in ice. Elsa was unsure how much was her own doing though.

"Sometimes when I was up in the North Pole," Elise started out of the blue. Elsa wiped her eyes one final time before focusing on Elise. "I would hope that one day someone would come knocking at my doors." Elise paused. "But no one ever came."

"Why did you go up there Elise?" Elsa decided it was time to ask.

Elise finally looked up from her spot on the floor and gazed into Elsa's eyes. Her eyes were glazed over. "I was that monster that you feared you were Elsa." Elise closed her eyes and brought her balled up hands to her face. "I was just so upset that mother and father wouldn't let me go out and play with the other kids that night. They were punishing me because they caught me trying to show off my snow. I was so angry at them and throwing such fit. I barely even remember doing it, they were just yelling and I was yelling back and I slammed my foot down and…and when I open my eyes there was blood everywhere." Elsa's eyes went wide, but she wasn't prepared for what happened next.

Elise grabbed a fist full of her hair and let out a terrifying shriek that made Elsa cower back. "I killed them!" she half screamed-sobbed. "I was so scared I ran out into the village. People were crowding around to see what was going on and I panicked and I just started freezing and freezing and when I was done there was no one left." By the time Elise finished her voiced had dropped to a whisper. "So I ran north until I came to the sea and then I kept on running until there was nothing around me but ice." She kept repeating 'nothing but ice' several times under her breath.

Elsa was in complete shock. Elise had killed all those people and here Elsa thought she was the one who was the monster. _No, Elise wasn't a monster either it was just an accident._ Elsa couldn't think of her as a monster, not when she sat there nearly ripping her hair out and rocking back and forth with her knees tucked into her body. Her eyes were wide open and looked devoid of life. She looked so broken, even more so than Elsa herself. Elsa knew what she had to do.

Elsa crawled over to Elise and wrapped her arms around her. "It's going to be okay. It was just an accident, Elise. It was in past, everything is different now," Elsa tried reassuring her. Elise responded by letting go of hair and grabbing onto Elsa as an anchor. With Elsa's support, Elise opened up the floodgates. For the next twenty minutes Elise sobbed in Elsa's arms while Elsa whispered words of reassurance in her ear and caressed her hair. Finally, Elise's sobs too faded into periodic sniffles.

"Is this what it feels like to have a sister?" Elise finally spoke up.

Elsa finally smiled for the first time in over an hour. "Yes, it's wonderful isn't it?"

An affirmative nod was her only response. After a few more minutes Elise moved out of Elsa's embrace, got off the cot, and walked around the cell. Elsa just watched with curiosity. She noticed Elise was muttering to herself. She did that a lot Elsa realized.

Finally, Elise stopped pacing and turned to Elsa. "I like your dress. It was your original one correct?"

"Yes, and thank you." Elsa was glad for the change of subject. "I like yours too."

"And you said you built your ice palace on your first try? How long did it take you?"

"Uh, only a few minutes actually." Elsa wasn't sure where this line of questioning was going.

"No way," Elise said narrowing her eyes. "You're lying."

"No, it's true," Elsa countered while standing up. "Just watch." Elise stood in amazement as Elsa built a scale model of her ice palace within the cell.

Elise's eyes were wide in wonderment. It reminded Elsa of Anna when she was kid. "It's beautiful." Elsa was delighted. "It took me years to finally build my own perfect palace. Just keeping it from falling down took forever."

"Oh." The reasoning behind her ice building hadn't occurred to Elsa before, but now it did. "Oh, that makes sense."

"What's that?" Elise asked never taking her eyes on off the model.

"Architecture," Elsa answered.

"Architecture?"

"Yes, architecture. And geometry. They were both kind of my hobby when I was growing up." Elsa turned away shyly from Elise's questioning gaze. "I've been drawing designs and sketches since I was ten."

"That explains how you managed to build this so easily." Elise turned back to examining the model. "I like more natural things myself. Animals and landscapes you know? I loved making sculptures, statues, and live ice creatures. Oh, and shaping the landscape."

Elsa was enjoying Elise marvel at her creation. "I see. That reminds me, how did you end up finding about my coronation?" Elsa asked.

"Oh, I'll show you actually," Elise paused and held up her hand. "Do you mind?" she asked looking at Elsa cautiously.

"No, please go on," Elsa had completely forgotten that Elise could have taken the opportunity to kill her or escape for a while now.

Elise whirled her hand around and formed a small ball of deep blue ice. It twirled around in a cloud of magic and ice crystals until it took on an odd snowflake looking shape. Elise sent it slowly over to her twin and Elsa held out her hand to catch it. It never reached her hand, instead it started flying around her head. Elsa managed to get a good look at it now. It looked like some kind of fairy made out of snowflakes.

"I call them Snow Fairies. I can send them anywhere in the world, though not a lot at a time. Through my connection to them I can see, hear, or even feel whatever they wherever they are."

"Whoa," Elsa was impressed. Who needs secret police when you had these guys?

"That's how I found out about your coronation. That's how I kept somewhat in touch with the outside world. I was always learning thanks to these guys. It takes a lot of concentration and control though."

"I bet," Elsa said as she stared at the Snow Fairy with fascination. Suddenly, Elise made it disappear. Elsa turned to look at Elise, nervousness creeping up on her.

However, Elise didn't look like she was going to attack. "So, I take it Anna doesn't really like me?"

"I'm afraid not," Elsa gave her a reassuring smile. "You haven't exactly been too kind to her yourself though."

"Yeah, I think I'm starting to realize that." Elise turned her head and refused to meet Elsa's eyes. Was she ashamed perhaps? And speaking of Anna, it was getting late. Elsa had to get to bed soon as much as she wanted to stay up all night talking to Elise.

"Elise, it's getting late. I think I'm going to have to go now." Elsa hadn't noticed Elise attempt to open her mouth first. "I want to visit again, but I'm going to be very busy the next few days. I won't be able to come tomorrow, but I will be able to the next day."

Elise rubbed her arm. "Oh, okay then."

The gesture didn't go unnoticed by Elsa. T_his was going to suck. How do I go through with this? _

"In the meantime I'm going to have to ask you to uhm..." Elsa trailed off as she directed her gaze to the manacles that sat on the floor next to the cot.

"No, I understand Elsa. I'll put them back on without a fight." Elise started walking back to her cot with her eyes to the floor.

_Well, that was easy._

Elise held out her hands to be restrained. Instead Elsa wrapped her arms around her. "Goodnight Elise. I'm glad to have you part of my life now." Before pulling away though, Elsa lightly kissed her cheek. She heard her shocked twin mumble something under her breath, but Elsa couldn't make it out. Elsa had a sudden urge to leave as fast as possible. She locked the manacles back on to her hands and feet and turned to leave grabbing the lantern in the process. Before closing the door Elsa looked over her shoulder to find Elise staring back at her.

Elsa was practically running down the corridors away from that cell. The visit had been extremely successful up until the very end. She had felt a strange feeling develop in the pit of her stomach when she had spontaneously decided to hug Elise before departing. She had an idea what this feeling was. All her fears from this morning were starting to come true.

* * *

**A/N: **Thanks to those who helped (Mig and Road) with this chapter. I wanted to get it this out at least yesterday, but whatever it's here now. So my apologies though I did already start writing chapter 4.

Don't worry there will be some action soon I promise. Not gonna say what kind of action though.

Also I changed the genre because. Thanks for reading.


	5. Chapter 5: Stars and Stripes Forever

**Chapter 5: Stars and Stripes Forever**

* * *

Today was finally the day. Queen Elsa and Princess Anna were going to meet Chancellor Jakobsen, Foreign Minister Hansen, and Admiral Hoffman at the docks for the arrival of the American delegation. Weeks were spent in preparation for this day. The reveal of Elsa's powers had been quite a shock to the international community. Most European governments were unsure of how to deal with this new information or how to approach Queen Elsa and as a result, Arendelle was given the cold shoulder diplomatically. Not a single diplomatic move was made towards Arendelle since the queen's coronation as the world considered their options. Elsa considered it a miracle that they had even responded to her requests for emergency rations for the winter.

Upon hearing about this diplomatic standstill, the young republic from the new world jumped upon the opportunity to make the first move. Elsa had received a communiqué from President Tyler a few weeks after her coronation asking to send an American delegation to Arendelle to negotiate a commerce and friendship treaty. She knew the Americans wanted to discuss the ice trade and use this opportunity as a power play against the other European powers. What she feared though, was that the Americans wanted to use her powers in the ice trade despite informing the dignitaries at her coronation that her powers would remain for private use only. Despite her fears, Elsa had agreed and preparations for their arrival had begun. Not only were Arendelle-American relations at stake here, but her and Arendelle's reputations were on the line as well as the rest of the world watched and waited.

So far everything was going according to plan. Well, almost everything. Going against Gerda's advice, Elsa had decided that she'd design her own ice dress for this occasion. Of course this led to Anna demanding to be able to design her own dress as well. Elsa had allowed it, but immediately regretted her decision when Anna arrived in the courtyard for the carriage trip to the docks. Anna wasn't wearing a dress, instead she wore vermilion red trousers adorned with rosemaling designs with a matching long-sleeved polo-necked blouse, gold-trimmed black bodice, and a floor length royal purple cape. Elsa had been furious, but eventually calmed herself down. Anna's unorthodox choice of wardrobe wasn't going to ruin anything, at least she was dressed conservatively and her hair was done nicely in the usual double braided style reserved for special occasions.

Elsa's hair was also made up and fashioned in the same way she had worn at her coronation. Her new dress was much more conservative than her original ice dress and far less revealing. It was a slightly deeper shade of blue and duller to prevent it from sparkling in the sunlight. She also wore a sweetheart bodice that blended into the dress save for the near white ice-jewels that completely encrusted it. The dress was full length to the floor, no slit, and came up to her neck covering both her shoulders and the full length of her arms. The dress finished off with a snowflake-designed high collar that reached all the way up to her ears. A transparent cape made out of sheer ice and adorned in snowflake designs completed her outfit. She was in complete contrast to Anna.

As they pulled up to the docks Elsa gave her sister one more look of disapproval.

"Oh, come on, Elsa you're wearing ice. I'm allowed to dress up different too. Plus it helps with the point that we're not your typical royalty," Anna tried reasoning. Elsa just rolled her eyes.

_We certainly are one of a kind._

They arrived at the docks to find everything set up and ready to go. Red, white, and blue decorations hung from buildings and lamp posts to welcome the foreigners. Elsa took her spot with Anna by her side along with her three councilmen and a detachment of her Royal Guard as they waited for the arrival of the American delegation whose ship had already entered the fjord.

"Whoa," Anna exclaimed when the American ship came into view. It was a steamship, a rarity in these parts. Admiral Hoffman must have been watering at the mouth to get one of these added to Arendelle's small flotilla. Not many navies actually possessed steam warships and as Elsa understood this one was one of the American Navy's first.

As the ship pulled up to dock Elsa could read lettering on its hull. _USS Missouri_ it read in English. Besides her native language, Elsa was fluent in German, Swedish, and Danish. Her English though, wasn't the best. Still she didn't recognize that word, though she may have seen it before somewhere.

Beside her, Anna was attempting to sound out the word. "M-m-i-ss-"

"Missouri, your highness," Foreign Minister Hansen corrected. Anna didn't know English and her tutors could barely get her to learn Swedish, Danish, or German. "It's one of their states and is a major river in the Americas," he continued, answering Anna's second question before she could ask it. Now Elsa remembered seeing it, the Missouri River was on a map she read while studying geography.

Elsa gave Anna one last quick look of reassurance as the _USS Missouri_ finished docking and finally lowered its gang-plank. A group of well-dressed men were the first off the ship, they seemed to be centered on a tall man in his 40s who sported mutton chops, a mustache, and top hat. They all appeared to be civilians wearing top hats and black jackets with the exception of three. One wore a blue jacket with gold epaulets, blue trousers, and a black cocked hat while the other two wore dark blue coats, scarlet-stripped light blue trousers, and yellow-edged round hats. All three wore swords at their sides, obvious military officers.

As the party approached, Elsa noticed the ship's deck was crowded with sailors all eager to catch a glimpse at the mysterious and beautiful 'Snow Queen'. Elsa tried not to let them distract her as the Americans reached them.

She cleared her throat before speaking in the best English she could manage, "Greetings, I am Queen Elsa and zis is my sister Princesz Anna. Ve both vish to extend our graciousnesz for your visit and velcome you to Arendelle."

"Ja, I Princess Anna velcomb ahnd til Arendelle," Anna said in broken English. Elsa had told her to stay quiet. Why couldn't she just listen for once? Despite her irritation, Elsa kept her posture even as the group in front of her gave a small chuckle at Anna's pronunciation.

"Thank you, your majesty," the mustached man in the middle said with a bow in near perfect Norwegian. Elsa mentally sighed in relief. This would certainly make their conversations go much smoother. He turned to Anna with a smile and bowed to her too. "And to you as well, your highness." Anna blushed, but he continued on. "I am Minister Alexander Herbert, the official United States Envoy to the Kingdom of Arendelle." He held out his hand to the Queen. "Thank you for the honor of having us, your majesty."

"Well, nice to meet you, Minister Herbert," Elsa said taking his hand and shaking it. "I wasn't aware you were fluent in Norwegian."

"I come from a Norwegian family, your majesty," Minister Herbet explained. "Let me introduce my compatriots." He started to point to the other civilian-dressed men in his group. "This is Representative Benjamin Garner of the US state of Massachusetts and of the United States House Committee on Commerce," he said then pointed at another man. "This is Johnathon Mulloy, a lawyer who represents several American businessmen involved in the ice trade." He gestured to the last of his civilian companions. "This is my secretary William Beck and our translator Patrick Bayer." Minister Herbert now indicated to the blue uniformed man. "And this is Captain Samuel Hill of the _USS Missouri_ along with our two Marine escorts." Elsa eyed the two scarlet striped Marines suspiciously. It reminded Elsa of her last run in with two 'escorts'—better known as the Duke of Weseltown's bodyguards.

After exchanging more greetings between the two parties, Elsa decided to get them moving along. "So, before we settle down at the castle we were hoping to provide you with a quick tour of Arendelle itself if that's not an issue."

"Of course not, your majesty, we would be honored to be given a tour," Minister Herbert responded. He was very soft-spoken and diplomatic Elsa observed. She could foresee him being a tough opponent at the negotiating table.

"Very well then. I will see to it that your personal items will be taken to your rooms." Elsa turned to Chancellor Jakobsen. "In the meantime, Chancellor you may proceed with our tour."

Above the two parties on the deck of the US steamship, sailors lined the railings watching the exchange take place.

"What in the Lord's name is that redheaded girl wearing? She looks absolutely ridiculous," observed one of the sailors in English.

To his side, another sailor turned with an inquiring eyebrow raised. "Redhead? Jonny, you blind fool did you miss the blonde one next to her?"

"Yes, she was quite the beauty too, but-"

"She was wearing ice for clothes and you're worrying about a Princess in pants?"

"Oh. Hmm...first princesses in pants and now ice clothes. We truly are in dark times." The sailor to Jonny's side just rolled his eyes.

* * *

The tour of Arendelle was hardly quick. They were going on their second hour and still had another two to go. On the inside, Elsa was very ready to go home, though she refused to let it show. Not because of the walking though, the only reason her feet weren't killing her was because she had been constantly and subtlety changing her footwear. That was the benefit of manipulable ice shoes. No, her problem was that she had nothing to keep her occupied. Not even listening to the tour was interesting since Elsa had heard all this information multiple times when Anna was able to coax her out the castle. Not even the architectural information caught her interest anymore. Chancellor Jakobsen was the one leading them, not because Elsa didn't want to, but because her experience around the city was on par with that of a common tourist. It was better to let someone with first-hand experience be the guide.

She remained silent while Chancellor Jakobsen gave his tour and Anna enthusiastically interrupted once in a while to give her input about one of her many visits out in town since the gates opened. The other guests eventually started conversations of their own with Admiral Ferguson and Foreign Minister Hansen. Even the translator, who seemed to be closer to her and Anna's age, tried striking up conversations with Anna when he wasn't busy translating. Come to think about it, he seemed rather infatuated with Anna.

_Why isn't he infatuated with me? Do I really come off as some kind cold-hearted bitch? Who am I kidding of course I do, they wouldn't call me the 'Snow Queen' if I wasn't. Wait, I don't even like dealing with people anyway, why do I care all of a sudden? I'm glad they're not talking to me honestly, but I wish I had something to do._

So Elsa remained silent. Silent and contemplative as her mind wandered.

With nothing else to do and the worrying of the American's arrival out of the way, that left one topic for Elsa's mind to wander to. Elise. The only thing that was on her mind was Elise. She had been blessed with dreamless sleep the night before and she had been too busy all morning to stop and think, but now things were different. The black-haired twin haunted her thoughts. There was so much more Elsa wanted to learn from her, so much more she needed to know about her. She had learned so much already, but it wasn't enough. Elsa needed more, she needed Elise. And then there were those thoughts again...

Elise made Elsa feel something that no other person made her feel. Love, but not love like the way she loved Anna and her parents. It was different, it was everything that her love for Anna had, but with more. It was...sensual? But why would she love her own twin sister like that? It was disgusting, immoral, degenerate, and so very wrong. Was she really just a disgusting monster or was she just confusing these feelings for something else? Or perhaps being separated from Elise for so long was causing it or maybe it was a side-effect of their magic? Elise was her identical twin after all so maybe she was just an extreme narcissist?

Pushing those feelings aside, she decided there were other matters to deal with concerning Elise. How was she going to determine when Elise wasn't a threat? How was she going to convince Anna that she wasn't a threat? Elsa needed to figure this out soon, she couldn't keep Elise locked up any longer, especially if she wanted a chance to reconnect with her long-lost twin. There was also the issue of the Crown Princess. Elsa was going to title Anna the Crown Princess, but since Elise arrived, Elsa was considering given her the title instead. That is if Elise is capable of leading, Elsa had to determine that first. Her council wouldn't approve either way, they wanted her to produce an heir.

That wasn't happening though. She remembered the first time she touched herself and the release she experienced resulted in ice coming out of her in a place she did not want ice to come out of. It was the last time she did that too. No, she wasn't going to risk killing her lover trying to get pregnant.

_Except your lover doesn't have a penis and is immune to the cold, stupid._

That last thought caused a deep blush to form on her face's typical stoic mask. She looked around sheepishly to make sure no one noticed. Fortunately no one did.

_Oh my God, why did I just think that? Get a hold of yourself Elsa, you're losing it. That's your twin and a woman._

The whole situation was making Elsa go crazy. She would much rather be doing work than thinking about this. In fact, ruling her kingdom was much easier and relaxing than thinking about this whole mess. Even dealing with people, something Elsa loathed, was better than figuring this out.

"I should invade Sweden to get my mind off this," Elsa joked to herself under her breath. _Whoops._

"Is there something wrong Queen Elsa?" her Chancellor asked.

"What? I didn't say...er, I mean no, I'm fine," Elsa quickly corrected herself. Suddenly she realized how deep in thought she was. They were already on their way back to the castle without her realizing it.

"This has been a lovely tour, but I must be getting back to my ship to oversee its mooring to our permanent position in the harbor," Captain Hill spoke up in English. "Don't worry we know the way," he said before anyone could offer him a guide. "Until next time, your majesty." He bowed and was off, his two Marines following close behind.

* * *

"Well Lieutenant, what do you think?" the American Captain asked as the trio made their way down the streets to the docks. They had thoroughly studied maps of Arendelle during their voyage and were capable of navigating without any guides.

"She was lost the entire tour, sir," one of the Marines spoke up. "Completely detached, her mind off in her own world."

"It was a wonder she managed to keep up with us at all," commented the other Marine.

"What are you trying to say? That she's insane?"

"Not at all, Captain. She seems to be an extreme introvert. I thought so myself from reading over the reports of the coronation incident. Today's observation confirms it though," the Lieutenant answered.

"She does seem rather cold for a 'Snow Queen'," the Captain said with a smile. The two Marines rolled their eyes. The trio fell silent as they turned a corner and into the earshot of a passing guard.

When they passed the other Marine spoke up. "It's all an act."

"Hmm?"

"She's putting on a mask."

"Explain yourself, Sergeant."

"This isn't the real her. It's what she wants the world to think. Calm, reserved, mysterious, emotionless Queen Elsa."

"And how can you tell this, Sergeant?" the Captain asked.

"She's constantly on edge. Even when she was lost in thought for the past four hours she was still, sub-consciously, on edge. You can tell by her mannerisms. She conceals them well, but they are not so easily concealed to the trained eye. Take the Princess's butchered greeting for example. To you, she appeared completely unmoved, even as you all had a laugh about it." The Captain grinned, that had been amusing. "You missed how her breathing slightly hitched, how her smile almost faltered for a split second, how her hands fought back the urge to start fiddling with themselves. She almost let it slip. She did in fact let it slip once during the tour. Something caused her to flush deeply. She thought no one noticed though."

"I have to agree with Sergeant Jackson, Capt'," the Lieutenant said.

"Very well. Then what is she hiding under that mask and why?" the Captain inquired.

The Lieutenant simply shrugged. "Who knows, but I doubt it's something sinister. Her unusual upbringing probably played a role in it and she is the Queen after all. She doesn't want her political enemies to take her as shy or timid."

Captain Hill decided to it was time to get to the point. "Does she pose a threat to Minister Herbert and the delegation?"

The two Marines could barely contain their laughter "The 'Snow Queen' is completely harmless," the Lieutenant answered. "She's just a young woman with the responsibilities of a nation and an unknown Godly power forced upon her. The fact that she's lasted this long is testament of her strength. No Captain, she is no evil witch and she won't lose it as long as she has that Princess of hers by her side. Minister Herbert is safe."

"Let's drop this topic until we get back to the privacy of the ship though," the Sergeant advised. "Our tail is starting to get bolder trying to listen in on us."

"Damn," Captain Hill cursed. "Okay, I'll take your word for it Lieutenant."

* * *

When they returned to the castle Kai showed the guests to their rooms and allowed for Anna and Elsa to return to their own to recuperate. Elsa scolded Anna again for the outfit choice and ordered her to change then decided to change out of her ice dress as well. She went with a shortened version of her coronation dress. After allowing some time for the delegation to settle in, Elsa met them in the conference room, though not before meeting with some of her councilmen to decide on a plan of action.

The two parties discussed the rules and formalities that the upcoming negotiations would follow as well as fleshing out the schedule. Minister Herbet offered to give the royals a tour of the _USS Missouri _the next day which Elsa accepted on Anna's insistence. Anna had never seen a steamship up close before.

By evening, they had worked out all the necessary details. Elsa had hosted a formal dinner for the five guests and so she now sat in one of the lounges with Chancellor Jakobsen, Foreign Minister Hansen, and Admiral Hoffman. General Holt and the Captain of the Royal Guard had eventually joined them as well for drinking and socializing.

It was getting late and the get together showed no signs of ending. Being the host Elsa couldn't just leave, much as she wanted. She hadn't taken part in many conversations after the meeting. Most of the delegation and her own people talked amongst themselves which suited Elsa fine, though it left her in a similar situation as earlier today during the tour. The Captain of the Guard knew English and everyone else had some kind of shared language to speak to one another with. The room was abuzz with a mix of Norwegian, German, English, and even some French. Elsa was already emotionally drained and her head should have be throbbing from a migraine right now if she wasn't nursing her third glass of vodka. She had to thank Kai for that, the rest of them thought it was water.

Despite the shared languages, that poor translator was working nonstop which explained why he wasn't all over Anna. Speaking of Anna, where had she gone? She must've slipped out earlier.

_That little brat. She wasn't getting enough attention so she got upset and left. At least she gets attention from other people. No one ever ogles over me. How am I not more beautiful than she is? _

Elsa put down her glass, recognizing the path her thoughts were going down. Maybe that was enough alcohol for tonight. Elsa learned from her last experience getting drunk with Anna that alcohol brought out a very jealous and attention-seeking side of Elsa.

Drunk or not, Elsa was jealous of Anna's absence.

* * *

"You should have just stayed home. You had to go rush off like an idiot and now you're stuck here." It was the umpteenth time today that Elise was berating herself for her decision to come to Arendelle. She was at her typical spot on the cot staring out her tiny reinforced window. It was a good view of the harbor and the American steamship was moored front and center.

"She's never going to let you out," Elise said to herself. These last three days had been hell. Thirteen years of isolation and now Elise was under constant observation. The lack of privacy was driving Elise insane. These restraints were even worse. Uncomfortable and irritating. Elise had to rely on that rather nice servant—_Gerda I think her name was_—to feed her.

Elise had to get out of here soon, but she had little hope of ever leaving. There was no way they were going to let her out of this cell alive. She tried to usurp the throne and assassinate the Queen. Looking back on the decision, Elise wasn't even sure why she did it. She spent so many years fantasizing about ruling her own kingdom, to rule something that wasn't just barren ice. When she found out about Elsa, she thought she'd been handed her own kingdom on a silver platter. It was supposed to be so easy, just waltz on into Arendelle and kill her twin. Elsa had appeared so incompetent when Elise observed her through the snow fairy spies.

Elise had been proven so wrong in the past few days. Elise knew she was wrong the moment she saw her with her own eyes that night. Elise was replying that night over and over since she woke up. The moment she entered that gate, a voice in the back of her mind screamed at her to stop. Since then Elise identified what that voice wanted, what she wanted now—to reunite with her Elsa. But her lust for power, her inability to think ahead, ruined it all.

Elsa was never going to forgive her now. They were never going to reconcile and be sisters. Elise was never going to have the family she always, deep down, desired.

"I messed up so bad."

Of course, Elise didn't know Elsa was going to turn out so kind, so caring, and so much like herself. She assumed Elsa was just your typical spoiled and pampered royal. No, not assumed, she feared it. She had been afraid her own sibling wouldn't want her, but at the time, Elise didn't want to admit to herself that she was afraid. So instead her lust for power won out.

"If I only I thought this through, maybe-"

"You could've successfully killed my sister?" a voice behind her interrupted, startling her. She hadn't heard the door open.

Elise spun around to see who had finished her thought. It was Elsa's sister, Anna. No, not just Elsa's sister, her sister. For a brief second, Elise smiled with joy. She guessed Elsa was visiting early, though it appeared she decided to bring Anna along. That was a minor thing, but at least Elise got to see her twin again. Elise really enjoyed Elsa's company, more than she was willing to admit.

The smile lasted until Anna closed the door, alone. _Wait, where's Elsa? Oh no, this isn't good.  
_  
"Or you could've successfully taken the throne?" Anna continued as she moved in on Elise. As she got closer, Elise could see tears at the brim of her eyes and she was breathing heavily. "Am I getting close, Elise?"

Elise didn't know what to say. She was too scared to stand up and now Anna hovered over her, visibly shaking.

**Slap!  
**  
Elise winced at the pain that burned on the left side of her face. Anna had struck hard and without warning, knocking Elise onto her side. When she sat back up, tears were falling down Anna's face.

"Why? Why did you have to come here and do this to us?" Anna asked. It wasn't a question, it was a demand.

Elise opened her mouth to say something, but Anna never gave her a chance. "Do you know what you put me through? For the first time in weeks I was able to have a good night sleep and then you showed up. I've had nightmares every night since you showed up. Do you know what happens in my nightmares?"

This time Anna let Elise answer. "N-no."

"I lose her. I lose my sister over and over. Sometimes it's by Hans, sometimes by an angry mob, sometimes it's by her own hand." Anna paused and glared down at Elise. "And now it's you."

Elise winced as it dawned on her the full extent of how much she wronged Anna. "A-anna, I'm sorr-"

**Slap!**

This time Elise saw it coming and braced herself. It still hurt like hell though.

"How fucking dare you!" Anna yelled. She grabbed Elise by the collar and lifted her up. "You have no idea what you put me through. You have no right to apologize!" Anna shoved her back down on the cot and took a few steps back. "And now you're all she thinks about," she said, voiced significantly lowered as if she was afraid to say it.

Elise was stunned and felt terrible. She turned her gaze away, refusing to look at Anna, but wait, what had she meant about that last part? Elise peaked in Anna's direction, but found that she had turned around facing the door.

It was probably the best time to say this, while she wasn't looking. "Anna, y-you have to understand. I didn't...I didn't mean this. I-I screwed up, I screwed up so bad." Tears started forming in her eyes. "I wish I could take it all back."

Elise paused when Anna took a deep breath. She turned back around, tears no longer falling, her face emotionless, her eyes staring into Elise.

"I don't know why, but Elsa actually likes you," Anna finally said, though it sounded more like she was admitting it to herself.

_Wait, she does?_

"I really don't understand what she sees in you." A spark of hope burned in Elise's mind.

_Perhaps this can be fixed after all. Maybe Elsa will forgive me?_

"She says she feels sorry for you, that she reminds you of herself."

_Oh God, I really don't deserve her. But I have to show her that I'm different, that I'm not the girl that tried to kill her. First I'm going to apologize even if it means I have to get on my hands and knees and beg for forgiveness._

Elise was knocked out of her thoughts when Anna leaned in closer. "Listen to me though. I will protect her from you, do you understand me? I will do anything to protect her from you."

Elise swallowed and nodded nervously. She wasn't going to get very far with Elsa though, as long as she was on Anna's bad side. Elise didn't really like Anna, she didn't hate her, but she didn't like her either. And if she wasn't so beside herself right now, she'd probably give Anna a taste of her own medicine. Then again, Elise had to be grateful that Anna knocked her out before she could harm Elsa.

Elise looked down at the floor. Maybe if she let Anna know this…

"Thank you," Elise whimpered. The tears were starting to fall now.

"Excuse me?" Anna asked narrowing her eyes.

"Thank you for stopping me from hurting Elsa."

Anna was taken back. With a huff, she spun around and moved to the door.

"Anna, you have to believe me. I didn't mean any of this." Elise was sobbing now. "I just want my sister. I just want to part of your family, I don't want to be alone anymore."

Anna paused as she swung the door open. She turned her head over her shoulder. "No one wants to love a monster," she spat and slammed the door closed.

That word hit Elise directly in the heart. She didn't move for several minutes, she just sat there staring straight ahead with tears silently falling down her cheeks. She finally allowed herself to fall onto the cot and curl up into a ball.

"I'm not a monster," she whispered to herself before bursting into sobs. By the time she cried herself to sleep, her tears had frozen solid to her face.

* * *

**A/N:** Thanks again to Mig and Road for helping with this chapter.

Sorry for the delay. I wanted to get this out sooner, but this chapter took long to write/edit. Good news though, I'm almost chapter 5 so the next update shouldn't take as long.

By the way, I try to keep as historically accurate as I can, but there's going to be things I miss or get wrong. I also take some liberties with certain things. One of which is the introvert personality archetype. The guy who came up with the introvert/extrovert archetype theory won't even be born until 33 years after this fic takes place.

Also I should point out that history/the past always finds a way to right itself if you try to change it. Just keep that in mind for things to come.

Finally I'd like to point out and make it clear that the two cases of Elsa having jealous thoughts about Anna are two completely separate non-connected situations. The second one is a result of Elsa consuming too much alcohol, as I pointed out Elsa get's jealous and attention seeking when she drinks. The first one is a result of her mind wandering off and I have three reasons to explain why it briefly wandered in that direction in case you were wondering.

One, I wanted to emphasize that despite being an introvert, Elsa is still human and thus not immune to envy because let's be serious, Elsa is probably getting real tired of being alone all the time. The second reason is that one of the reasons why was unoccupied during the tour was because no one was paying attention to her so it wouldn't be a far stretch to claim Elsa's wandering mind wouldn't touch on the topic of "why isn't anyone paying attention to me" especially as the tour dragged on and Elsa's annoyance grew. That kind of runs into the third reason, that Elsa isn't used to not being the center of attention. Elsa is the Queen and when she is actually around groups of people, she's **always** the center of attention. Now she's in a group of people who care little about royalty and in a situation that doesn't put her at the center of attention so again it's no surprise that her wandering mind would touch on that. But I'm not saying Elsa likes being the center of attention or wants to be the center of attention at all, just that being the center of attention is what Elsa is used to. It's almost like second nature to be at the center of attention for her.

Now that I think about it though, the two situations kind of are connected in that it takes extreme situations to bring out her envious feelings - alcohol consumption and extreme boredom being the two extreme cases in this chapter.

Anyway thanks for reading. If you have any other questions about my personalization of the character feel free to ask.


	6. Chapter 6: The Monster That I Was

**Chapter 6: The Monster That I Was**

* * *

It was a beautiful late autumn day in Arendelle. The sun was shining, the air was cool, and the fjord waters still, a far cry from the winter storm that passed through at the beginning of the week. It was the perfect time to be outside before winter truly settled in. Though Anna was grateful to be outside of the castle, she really wanted to get off this stupid ship already.

Earlier today, Anna had been bouncing up and down with excitement for this tour. She had never seen a steamship up close before and she thoroughly enjoyed seeing the smokestack and sidewheel up close. This time, unfortunately, the center of attention was on Elsa and when the Americans found out she had a knack for architecture and fine details, they quickly refocused their tour to accommodate and impress the Queen. That left Anna very bored as the group moved among the lower decks.

_This is taking forever, why is this boat so big? My feet hurt. I want to go home and play with Olaf, whenever he comes home with Kristoff._ Anna knew the American steam frigate wasn't 'big' in the grand scale of things though, it just happened to be the biggest she'd ever been on (the Royal Arendellen Navy's largest ship was only a brig). _At least Elsa is enjoying herself, my poor sister is always working-_

Anna stopped when she reached a dead end. She looked around, but the passage was devoid of anyone but her.

"Whoops, maybe I should have been paying attention," she said to herself upon realizing she was lost. She started formulating a plan in her head. The ship wasn't that big, it wouldn't take them long to find her...but Elsa was going to be furious when they got back to the castle. Wait, but Elsa didn't know she was gone yet. Anna learned the hard way that when her sister started going on about her favorite hobby, she never shut up about it. She had almost regretted asking Elsa about her love for architecture a few days after they were reunited. She must have still been preoccupied with talking about the ship's detailing and design otherwise she never would have let Anna wander off in the first place.

So, Elsa didn't know. The deck and bulkheads hadn't even frosted over. Anna still had time, she could go find the group, slip back in, and pretend she was never gone. First, she had to remember where they were going. That handsome translator said something about going to see the...steam engine! Anna remembered now, they were on their way to see the steam engine. So, she had to meet them there.

She turned around to begin her search, but did a double take when she noticed a word written on one of the doors that lined the barren passageway. It read "Storeroom" in English. She studied the word carefully.

"Hmm, that looks like steam to me." Anna grabbed the handle and opened the door. The room was dark, but the light filtering in from the passageway was enough for Anna to tell that this was in fact not the way to the steam engine.

"Oh, it's a storeroom," she corrected herself. "Ooh, I wonder if they have any chocolate in here?" Curiosity got the better of her and she grabbed one of the hanging lanterns in the passageway then went back into the storeroom to search.

In the light, Anna could tell this wasn't the kind of storeroom that stored food. It was a little messy and filled with what appeared to be medical supplies. "Let's see what we got here." Anna focused on a large demijohn that caught her eye. It was labeled "Turpentine" in English. "Ooh, I wonder if this is somebody's wine stash?" She picked it up and opened it. It was definitely not wine, it smelled terrible.

"Wait, what am I doing? I need to get back before Elsa finds out I'm gone." Anna closed the demijohn and placed it back onto the shelf. She only managed to turn halfway around when she heard it slip off the shelf and shatter on the floor.

"Uh oh," Anna said when she saw the mess. She slowly backed out of the storeroom.

Anna never made it out. Her foot caught a bundle of cloth lying on the messy floor and sent her sprawling onto her back with a yelp. The lantern she'd been carrying flew out of her hands, into the air, and landed on the deck in front of her.

* * *

Elsa was enjoying herself immensely. When their tour had started, she had other things on her mind, like her date—er meeting—with Elise later that night. She didn't care much for the tour, she agreed to it for Anna's sake though the ship did impress her. And make her jealous, jealous that Arendelle didn't have one of these.

It was only until the ship's engineer mentioned something about the ship's construction that got Elsa hooked. She asked one detailed architectural question about the ships design and next thing she knew their tour took a very interesting turn that focused on naval architecture and structural design rather than an overview focus that it was before. Elsa was overjoyed with this sudden change, everyone else in her party maybe not so much.

"So, as you can see your majesty, this is why the Brooklyn Navy Yard had to choose this arrangement," the ship's engineer said in English. Elsa had inquired about the layout of the steam engine in relation to the storage of its fuel, which she had insisted on seeing and thus why her once regal blue outfit, porcelain skin, and platinum blonde hair were now stained with coal dust. It had only been a day and the Americans had already given up on letting themselves be surprised by the young Queen.

"Ah, I see now, that make's sense. I vas vondering though, vhat...uh...vood...uh," Elsa started in English before giving up and turning to the translator. "I was wondering what type of wood these door frames are made out of," she finished in Norwegian. Elsa had dropped the translator soon after getting into the tour, preferring to talk to the engineer directly in English. He was still useful though, for times like this. If Elsa hadn't been high on excitement right now, she probably would have started hyperventilating at the mere thought of messing up in front of these people.

"Oh, that would be-"

**Ringringrinringringringringringringrinringringringringring!**

Elsa saw both the Captain and Engineer's eyes go wide at the sudden bell ringing. A sailor ran into the room before either of them could react.

"Capt' a fire broke out in one of the storerooms. It's already spreading fast," the sailor said. Elsa noticed something else was wrong though.

_Wait, where's Anna?_

"Get the Queen and Princess off the ship now!" Captain Hill ordered. Elsa gasped as a hand grabbed her arm and started forcefully pulling her to the exit.

"Wait, wait, where's Anna? Where's my sister?" Elsa turned to see who was pulling her. It was Admiral Hoffman. If Elsa wasn't so distracted with Anna's whereabouts, she probably would have frozen his hand as a reflex.

Elsa could see it in his face before he even answered causing her eyes to flash with panic. "I don't know, your majesty."

"What do you mean, you don't know?" Elsa ripped herself out of Admiral Hoffman's grasp and took off in the opposite direction, deeper into the ship.

"Elsa, wait!" She could hear him yelling at her as she ran down the passage way. She turned a corner and hit a wall of smoke. She had to keep going though and pushed on, coughing as the smoke entered her lungs.

Elsa made it to the end of the passageway and grabbed the door frame for support. That's when she heard her over a fit of coughing.

"Elsa help! Elsa, please help!"

_Anna._

Elsa ran towards the voice until she found her little sister coughing on her hands and knees.

"I'm here Anna, I'm going to get you out of here." With all the strength she could muster, Elsa lifted Anna back onto her feet and led her back towards the exit. "Everything's going to be okay."

A thought crossed Elsa's mind that maybe she should use her magic to blast her way out of here, but before she could even get a chance to raise her hand Elsa heard the cracking of the deck above as broken and burning wood fell down on them. With her last ounce of strength, Elsa managed to throw Anna aside as a beam of wood came crashing down. She managed to see Anna out of harm's way as a beam fell down and struck her in the head. Elsa's vision turned black, her last thoughts were of Anna's safety and hoping that she wouldn't be meeting her in death anytime soon.

* * *

Anna spun around as soon as she hit the deck. There was nothing behind her but a wall of burning wood.

"ELSA!"

Anna tried going back, but she kept getting farther away.

"ELSA!"

Suddenly, Anna realized what was happening. She was being pulled away by someone and he was talking to her.

"...the ship is lost. If you don't get out here now, you'll die," he said. Anna recognized him as one of the Marines from yesterday. Apparently he spoke Norwegian. It didn't matter to Anna though. She kept struggling and screaming, she had to get back to Elsa. But the Marine kept pulling. She almost broke free when another set of hands joined in to pull her out.

Admiral Anved Hoffman was being pinned down by some Marine on the last boat off the _USS Missouri_ when Captain Hill and the other Marine emerged from the inferno carrying a screaming Princess Anna. He gulped, that was only one of the two. Queen Elsa was still missing.

"Sailor, get us out of here," Captain Hill ordered as he and the Marine dragged Anna into the boat. The two sailors with the oars started rowing away.

"NO, I NEED TO GO BACK FOR ELSA," Anna was screaming and kicking hysterically, tears were flowing out of her eyes like waterfalls. "WAIT, PLEASE, MY SISTER."

"Sarge, get over here and help us hold her down." Anved heard the Marine holding back Anna ask the Marine pinning him down in English. Anved didn't understand what he said, but it got the Marine off of him.

Captain Hill and the two Marines were too busy handling Anna to notice the Arendellen Admiral slip off the boat and back onto the burning wreck that was once the _USS Missouri_. Admiral Anved Hoffman had lost two members of the royal family to the sea already. He was never going to allow the sea to take another one again.

* * *

Elise was still barely over her encounter with Anna from last night. She had awoken in the morning with iced-tear covered cheeks and the moment the servants left her alone again she had cried herself back to sleep. Elise finally got up for good and now her anticipation for tonight was growing.

Elsa was supposed to visit and Elise could not wait any longer. The only thing on her mind since waking up was Elsa. Anna's words still played out in her head. Elsa actually like her. Elise needed her now, she needed Elsa here to reassure her, to tell her the she was not in fact a monster. She needed Elsa to tell her that she loved her.

Elise was ready to do anything for it. To get down on her hands and knees and beg for forgiveness from Elsa. She was even ready to forgive Anna's visit if it meant appeasing Elsa. That would be a big step for her because if Elsa didn't cherish her younger sister so much, Elise would have considered cutting Anna's throat the moment she got of this cell.

No, she would live with Anna if it meant being with Elsa. Elsa was so very much worth it. Elsa was perfect.

Elise closed her eyes trying to picture her twin. Elise thought she herself looked beautiful, but Elsa just topped it. That long almost-white hair, Elise could only imagine what it would like down and unbraided. And it was in such contrast to Elise's own short pitch-black hair. Even their faces were sharply contrasted even though they technically had identical faces. When Elise looked at Elsa's face she didn't see herself, she saw a whole different person. Elsa's face, especially her eyes, always radiated love and caring at least when she wasn't wearing that stupid emotionless mask. Elise's on the other hand was always stern and intimidating. And then there was Elsa's awkward smile. It was as if Elsa didn't know how to smile, which was actually quite possible. It made her look so timid, yet so adorable.

_Wait, what am I doing? Adorable? Really, Elise?_

Of course, Elise thought Elsa was beautiful, but maybe she was taking it too far. After all they were sisters...

A strange commotion coming from the window startled Elise out of her stupor and she realized she'd been sitting in the same spot staring at the same wall since she had gotten up. She moved to get better view out the window, a bad feeling slowly developing in her gut. Elise's breath caught in her throat at the sight of smoke and fire rising from that steamship, the bad feeling having transformed into full blown terror.

Elsa was on that ship. Elise didn't know how, but in that moment she knew Elsa was on that ship and in grave danger.

Elise didn't pause to ponder on how she knew, she had to get out of here and help Elsa now.

She glanced down at her hands, her brow knitting in concentration, all her thoughts and will power focused on getting Elsa to safety.

Queen Elsa's 'unbreakable' manacles started gathering frost…

* * *

By the time the small boat reached the docks, Anna's struggling and screaming had subsided from fatigue. It still took all the effort of the two Marines to drag her onto the dock however.

Chancellor Jakobsen came running through the horde of wounded sailors that covered the dock when he spotted Anna on the last boat. "Where is the Queen? Where is Queen Elsa?" He stopped short when he saw the state Anna was in.

"The Queen is still on the ship," Minister Herbert answered from Jakobsen's right. He had been attending to an injured sailor.

"Captain, what happened?" the Minister asked turning to the Captain. Captain Hill just shook his head.

Jakobsen didn't need to understand English to know what that meant. He approached the Princess, shooing away the Marines that still held on to her. He wondered how life could be so cruel to someone as sweet and innocent as the Princess.

"Please, you have to go back for her. Please, she's my sister I can't lose her," Anna pleaded between sobs. She tried moving to the water again, but Jakobsen held her back. "Let me go, I need to go back for her."

"Anna, listen to me," he said. "We can't go back, the ship is completely engulfed in flames. I'm sorry, but..."

"Where is Admiral Hoffman?" one of the Marines interrupted in Norwegian looking around the dock.

"Wait, Admiral Hoffman must've gone back for her. He got her out, we just have to go back to pick them up!" Anna cried out enthusiastically. No one had the heart to directly tell Anna that Elsa was dead.

Captain Hill and Minister Herbert exchanged a few words in English, then Herbert spoke to them in Norwegian. "We can't get near the ship, when the fire reaches the powd-"

**Boom!**

The _USS Missouri_ disappeared in a fiery explosion, but it was the shriek from Anna that got to Chancellor Jakobsen as she collapsed in his arms.

* * *

"Oh God, this is all my fault. Elsa no..." she whimpered.

Anna's world fell apart. All her nightmares had come true. Elsa was gone. Anna should have known it was all too good to be true when she finally got Elsa back. And it had all been her fault.

Anna felt completely detached from the world, not even realizing Jakobsen had put her down or hearing the words being spoken around her. But she did hear one thing though. It was in English, but Anna still recognized that word even in English.

_Ice._

Anna's head shot up so fast she felt dizzy, but she didn't let that deter her. She quickly noticed what was suddenly attracting everyone's attention. A large chunk of ice floated in the harbor, not far from where the wreck of the ships slipped below the waves.

"Get that chunk of ice now!" she screamed, though the two Marines, several sailors, and guards were already in a boat rowing towards it.

* * *

Practically everyone held their breath as the chunk of ice was attached to the boat and towed back. Chancellor Jakobsen could see Anna shaking with anticipation, though her tears were still flowing steadily. Jakobsen couldn't make out anyone on the ice as it got closer. Maybe she was inside it? Jakobsen hoped so, for Anna's sake more than anything else.

The men on the boat were rowing at impressive speed and they got back to the dock quickly. Anna was by its side the moment they arrived.

"Break it open! Someone break it open now!" Anna demanded as the sailors and guards secured the floating ice to the dock. Two men approached with axes and started hacking away. Within a few blows, a large section caved revealing a hollowed out center. Jakobsen shoved the guards out of the way to get a look inside for himself. Anna was already through the hole by the time he even got a chance to see inside.

Jakobsen released a sigh of relief at the sight. Elsa was alive, though he hadn't expected the other two bodies that were in the cavity with her. Elsa was sprawled out in the middle, barely conscious, with Anna sobbing on top of her. She kept repeating "I'm so sorry" over and over again. He was break curious what she meant by that, but it wasn't the time nor place to care.

Admiral Hoffman was sitting upright next to them practically coughing his lungs out. He looked fine, except for his hands which appeared severely burned. Actually now that Jakobsen thought about it, Elsa didn't even have a burn on her.

As for the third occupant, he had no idea who that black-haired girl lying next to Elsa was. In fact no one on the dock knew who she was. Like Elsa, she appeared completely unburned, but her clothes weren't singed like Elsa's. It actually looked like parts of it were...melted. In fact, it reminded Jakobsen of Elsa's ice dresses.

There was an audible gasp from everyone who could see into the ice chunk when the black-haired girl shifted and revealed her face.

"This must be Princess Elise," Admiral Hoffman spoke up when he finally managed to get control of his breathing. Everyone but the council members present were hopelessly confused.

Her eyes half opened and when they fell on Anna, her mouth opened in an attempt to form words. "...N-not…mo…mon…" Eventually she gave up and slipped back into unconsciousness along with Elsa.

When they tried to carry the three royals back to the castle, the guards were forced to pry Anna off of Elsa. Elise was holding Elsa's hand in an unconscious death grip. They tried to pry them apart too, but gave up when the twin's hands froze over.

* * *

**A/N:** Thanks Road and Mig for the help as always.

See, what did I tell you? The past always finds a way. In case you you didn't look it up before, the actual _USS Missouri_ caught fire and exploded in Gibraltar on August 25th, 1843 while on a diplomatic mission en route to China. So it happened a little early, but it still happened. You can look it up yourself, but make sure you specify the 1841 or steam frigate _USS Missouri _otherwise you'll just get the battleship _USS Missouri _and Pearl Harbor references. The Wikipedia page is actually legit, the source can be seen at the very bottom under references. It's a dot mil site.

While I was typing this, I suddenly I realized I should actually look up the weather of Arendelle (I consider the Arendelle of this fic to be around Bergen, Norway). So "the air was cool" line is kind of bullshit because it's actually supposed to be in the high 30s °F (not to mention it was probably cooler in the 19th century then it is now). I just took the liberty and kept it as a "cool" late autumn (like late November) day because I started the fic with the intention it wasn't quite winter yet. I blame the movie itself for that with all it's talk about summer, it skewed my perceptions. I won't make a big deal out if it though, but I apologize if I ruined your immersion.

I'm sure Bergen doesn't consider 30s °F winter though, but I'm pretty sure it is to the average reader.

Anyway thanks for reading. I'm not going to beg for reviews, but don't hesitate to ask about something.

Edit: If forgot to mention, the whole scene in the storeroom was meant to be social commentary about how you shouldn't leave storerooms in a mess and store hazmat in bad places you shouldn't on naval ships. So keep your storerooms clean, squids. And yeah, I'm talking to you, you asshole Culinary Specialists.


	7. Chapter 7: Aftermath

**Chapter 7: Aftermath**

* * *

Elsa shot up when she finally regained consciousness later that night. Her eyes darted around the room frantically searching her surroundings. She had no idea where she was or what had happened, the last thing she remembered was the fire.

Only when Elsa realized she was safe in her room did she try to calm her heavy breathing. But when she finally calmed down was when the pain hit. Her head was throbbing, causing her to remember the burning wood that had struck her. Now, Elsa was starting to remember everything. The tour, the fire, trying to save Anna... Elsa remembered seeing Anna and shoving her out of the way when the beam fell. She was safe. How, she wasn't sure, but she could faintly remember seeing Anna after the fire. All she could remember between getting knocked out and now was Anna crying over top of her while fading in and out of consciousness.

Aside from her memory, the sniffling coming from the sleeping body that had been pressed up against her right side assured her that Anna was safe. Elsa looked down on her left and finally saw Anna asleep. She looked like she'd be crying for hours and by the sound of the remnant sniffling Elsa wasn't surprised. Thinking about it made Elsa's heart clench, poor Anna's emotions had been-

Wait. Anna wasn't even close to her. And she wasn't on her right side either. The sudden realization made Elsa reflexively scoot to the left and shoot her head to her right to get a look at the other body that was in her bed.

Elsa gasped when she saw her black-haired twin. It was only then that she realized her right hand had been attached to Elise's own hand. It was a little sore, but it wasn't as bad the throbbing pain in her head.

Elsa was remembering more now. She remembered seeing Elise lying next to her on top of the ice before Anna showed up. Elise must have saved her. It was the only explanation on how she got out of that ship alive. Elsa wasn't sure how Elise had gotten out of the cell though.

"She saved you." Anna's voice rose from the bed behind her confirming Elsa's theory. "I thought you were dead. I thought I lost you again and then she saved you."

"Oh, Anna, I'm sorry," Elsa said turning around and grabbing Anna's body in the tightest hug she could.

"No, Elsa, I'm sorry. This was my fault." Elsa was confused when Anna slid out from under her and sat up, her eyes brimming with tears.

"I really messed up this time, Elsa." Anna looked ready to break down, but Elsa was still confused.

"Anna, what happened? Tell me, please?" Elsa pleaded. More tears started flowing and Anna told her everything.

"Oh God, Elsa, I'm so sorry. I don't know what's going to happen now. I'm so scared," she finished.

Elsa grabbed Anna in another hug. "Shh, Anna it's going to be okay. I'll fix this, okay? All what matters now is that you're safe," Elsa assured her while running her hand up and down Anna's back. "I'll go fix this right now."

Elsa let go of Anna and tried getting up, but Anna grabbed her arms and forced her back down. "No, stay here," she cried out softly. "Chancellor Jakobsen said he would handle it until morning. He said you should get some sleep first. He's arranged a meeting with the Americans in the morning, but in the meantime he thinks you should stay in bed."

Judging by the dim light coming through her window, Elsa judged it was already evening. Elsa wasn't going to argue, she'd rather sleep her headache off anyway.

"How bad is it?" Elsa asked. She needed to know so the question wouldn't keep her up for the rest of the night.

"Well, the ship is gone," Anna answered. "It exploded."

Exploded? That was bad. Elsa could tell the ship was going to be a complete loss anyway, but exploded was bad. "I figured it was."

"But no one was killed, so that's a good thing," Anna added seemingly to assure herself more than Elsa.

Elsa breathed a sigh of relief. That was fantastic news actually. "Thank Heavens. Anna, this is bad, real bad, but the fact that no one was killed makes this so much better." Anna still averted her eyes from Elsa's own out of shame. At least the tears stopped though.

"Wait, Anna, who else knows about this? I mean, your involvement."

"Oh, just the higher up people on both sides. Chancellor Jakobsen made sure no one outside the Council found out," Anna answered timidly. "Minister Herbert did the same for the American delegation." That was more good news, but Elsa wasn't sure how long that would last. People would start asking questions and would wonder how it all happened.

"Anna, we got really lucky, but there's going to be repercussions. Do you understand that?" Anna nodded her head, her eyes glued on the bed below her. "After I get this sorted out tomorrow we'll discuss this in more detail and I'm going to have to figure out some kind of punishment. Okay?" Again, Anna just nodded without looking up. Elsa didn't want to do this, but she knew she had to.

Elsa wrapped her arms around Anna for the third time to assure her. "We're going to get through this. I promise." Now that everything with Anna was settled until morning, Elsa was itching to face her other, still sleeping, sister. Elsa let go of Anna, who was still pouting, and crawled to the other side of the bed where Elise slept.

"She wouldn't let go of you," Anna said behind her. "When they tried pulling you two apart, both your hands froze over." That explained why Elsa's hand felt sore. The last part though, made Elsa blush and stop short of waking Elise. Her hand hovered over Elise's shoulder in preparation to nudge her twin awake. Elsa wasn't sure what to think about the frozen hands. It sounded sweet, something sisterly, but Elsa feared these underlying feelings of hers were really at fault.

She shook the thought off and continued on. Now was not the time. She gently nudged Elise's shoulder a few times until she got a response in the form of a gurgled mumble and Elise shifting her body and head to face Elsa. Before Elsa knew it, she was staring down into curious blue eyes.

Elsa was suddenly overcome with nervousness. She had no idea what she was going to say, the words were stuck in her throat, and Elsa was becoming very aware that both Elise and Anna sitting behind her were waiting for Elsa to say something.

"Hi," was all she managed to get out. _Smooth move, Elsa._

Elsa felt worse when Elise snorted and smiled. Not a split second later though, Elsa was caught off guard and let out a yelp when Elise sprung up and pinned her down onto the bed in a tight embrace, burying her face into the crook of Elsa's neck. Elsa flushed deeply, both equally abashed over Elise's body being on top of hers and happy that Elise couldn't see her face. It only got worse when Elise's body started shuddering. Wait, was she crying?

Yes, Elise was definitely crying now. Anna's concerned face appeared in Elsa's vision over the top of both of them, but before she could do or say anything, Elise started speaking.

"I'm so sorry, Elsa, please forgive me. I didn't mean it. I swear I didn't mean any of this," Elise cried out into Elsa's neck, the vibration sending a shudder through her body. "I-I'm sorry please, please, please forgive me. I'll do anything to prove it to you. Anything you ask."

"Elise, calm down," Elsa said patting her back. "You don't have to prove anything."

"What?" Elise pushed herself off Elsa to look directly into Elsa's face.

"Yes, Elise." Elsa said propping herself up on her elbows. "You don't have to prove anything. You're my sister and I know that you truly didn't mean me any harm. You were just confused and lost, but you're here now and the past is behind us. And after what you did today," Elise flushed at the reminder, "I owe you my life. I can't thank you enough for saving me."

"Yeah, Elise," Anna chimed in, "you have no idea how grateful I am for what you did. I thought I lost Elsa for good out there. I guess I have to take back what I said to you last night," Anna said while scratching the back her head. Elsa wasn't sure what that was supposed to mean, but it was probably best to ask later.

Elise sat straight up now and looked stunned at both their apologetic admissions, Elsa wasn't sure if Elise was completely convinced so Elsa continued. "Elise, if it wasn't for you, I would be dead and Anna would have lost me for good. What you did today, I can never fully repay."

Elise still looked nervous if the wringing of her hands was anything to go by. "So, I don't have to go back to that cell?" she asked with a shaky voice.

Elsa smiled, was that what was bothering her? "Of course not, Elise. You will never go back there and I should have never put you there in the first place." Elsa was too focused on Elise, so she wasn't sure what Anna just did with her eyes, but Elsa could have guessed it was something negative. Was Anna still not convinced about Elise? "Tomorrow though, you will have to tell me all about the details of your heroic rescue, especially how you managed to break out of that cell."

Elise finally managed to smile. "Oh, good, and yeah, I'll tell you all about it if you want." The smiled disappeared again though, something else was bothering her. "Can I...can I be part of your family too?"

Elsa burst out laughing. Elise looked mortified so Elsa sat up and dragged Elise back down next to her and tousled her hair. "You are a part of this family, silly. You don't have to ask."

Elise breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh, I was just nervous that you wouldn't..." Elise trailed off.

"Wouldn't what? Accept you? Elise don't be ridiculous, you're our sister." Elsa cut in.

"Yeah, you're right, I was just...you know, afraid."

"I know what you mean. Don't worry though, sister, you've," a yawn interrupted Elsa, "got us now. But I think maybe we should get some rest, what do you two think?" Elise and Anna both nodded.

"Elsa, can I-"

"Yes, Anna you can sleep in here," Elsa interrupted while working her way under the covers.

"Yay!" Anna joined her sister while blowing out the lamp on her side of the bed. Elise didn't move however.

"Uhm, should I go?" Elise finally asked. Elsa rolled her eyes.

"Nope, tonight you sleep with us," she said while pulling up the covers to give her twin access.

"Hey, Elise, I meant to ask, what were you trying to say out on the docks today?" Anna questioned while Elise climbed in.

Several seconds went by without Elise answering, causing Elsa's curiosity to rise. "I…I was trying to tell you…I wasn't a monster," she finally said, her voice almost a whisper by the end. An uncomfortable silence fell over the room.

Elsa couldn't see Elise's face in the now dark room, but she didn't want to imagine what it looked like. Instead she shuffled up to Elise and wrapped her arms around her, pulling their bodies up against each other. She pressed their cheeks together and felt silent tears.

With Elise in her arms, and eventually Anna nuzzled up against her back, Elsa fell into a deep sleep.

* * *

Elsa had woken up before the break of dawn, leaving her two still-sleeping sisters. She had plenty of work to do, but didn't want to disturb either of them so she let them sleep in, despite them sleeping for a half day. It gave Elsa the opportunity to meet with her advisers to plan a course of action before the early meeting with the Americans. It also gave her the opportunity to catch up on everything that had transpired since yesterday. She had found out that indeed no one had been killed as a result of the accident. The knowledge of Anna's involvement was still secure and the wreckage of the ship posed a navigation hazard and was going to have to be removed. The survivors were being housed in the naval base as a gesture of good will and as it stood they would be staying there until a ship arrived from America to pick them up. Elsa didn't intend to reverse that order.

Before she knew it, the time for the meeting had arrived. After relaying a specific set of instructions to Gerda for Anna and Elise when they woke up, Elsa arrived at the conference room. Thankfully, everyone was already there, but Elsa wasn't late, it was customary for the others to arrive well before the Queen. Her own people looked like they hadn't slept. The Americans on the other hand looked well rested. That was going to give them the advantage, though at least Elsa was well rested herself. In fact, it was one of her best nights of sleep she had in weeks. Too bad it was already ruined by stress the moment she woke up.

After the exchange of greetings and courtesies, Elsa began. "Gentleman, let me begin by offering my deepest apologies for the actions of my sister, Princess Anna. I intend to take full responsibility for her actions and as a result, request that any repercussions be directed at me instead of her. However, I want to make it clear that the actions of the royal family do not reflect that of Arendelle as a whole and I plead that you do not look down on the people of Arendelle as a result of this incident. I will have a formal apology written out to President Tyler and to your Congress immediately." Elsa finished up her monologue with building anxiety. How the Americans would respond would determine the course of this entire meeting and Arendelle's reputation.

The response Elsa got was not part of any of her contingency plans. "Queen Elsa, we thank you for the apology, but none of that is necessary," Minister Herbert said calmly and without malice. Elsa was struck with confusion, too much for her normally impenetrable mask to conceal. "Let me explain, your majesty," he continued in response to her now widened eyes. "As you know, very few people are aware of how this unfortunate accident happened in the first place. We are willing to make a deal with you, Queen Elsa, which would exclude Princess Anna's involvement from the official report. This would be a deal that's separate from the conference that we came here for and if you agree to this deal, the knowledge of Arendelle's involvement in the accident will be barred from the negotiation process. In fact it will have no effect on our relations; we will simply pretend it didn't happen."

Elsa was too taken aback to think of an immediate response. She felt surprised, relieved, and outraged all at the same. Surprised that they would make such an offer, relieved that she had a way of expunging Anna's involvement, and outraged that they were trying to take advantage of this tragedy not even a day after it happened. Elsa was well aware all eyes were trained in on her impassive face as they waited in anticipation for her to say something.

She never felt smaller and more powerless though. This was basically extortion and everyone knew it, though Elsa was aware it could be worse. At least they were willing to offer her something in return.

Elsa was willing to do anything for Anna though. She knew what she had to do. "Fine," Elsa finally said, a little too snappy than she intended. "What do you want from us?"

"Actually, it's what we want from you specifically, your majesty." Elsa gulped. She had a bad feeling about this. "First though, let me introduce you to a friend of ours, Mr. George Shaw," Minister Herbert said indicating to one of the men at the table.

What? Elsa didn't recognize him from the delegation and hadn't even noticed him when she came in. She discreetly peeked around the room to make sure there weren't any more surprises waiting for her. Thankfully, there was none.

"Mr. Shaw, here, is what we like to call an entrepreneur in the shipping industry," Minister Herbert continued before pausing. "Recently, though, he wishes to get involved in the ice business."

Elsa visibly pouted in defeat the moment the word "ice" left his mouth. So they _**were **_after her ice. She had a very bad feeling about this indeed...

* * *

Elise sat uncomfortably in the Queen's private foyer of the conference room with Anna as the two of them waited. Elise's first morning in the royal family was hardly going well. She was rudely awoken by Anna's shoving and was disappointed to find that Elsa was already gone. Then that servant, Gerda, came in right before Elise could give Anna a verbal beat-down for waking her up and generally just being a bitch. Gerda informed the two that Elsa had orders for them to dress, eat, and then wait for Elsa's first break outside the conference room. Elsa had demanded that they not deviate from that plan at all and also insisted Elise not use her powers until she saw Elsa. Elise was worried over making Elsa mad, so she obliged.

Unfortunately, that meant Elise couldn't wear one of her ice dresses so here she sat in one of Elsa's outfits, a simple skirt, blouse, and bodice set up in different shades of blues. It almost matched Anna's, whose outfit was in greens. It was the first time Elise had worn real cloth in over a decade, it was very irritating. Worse was her hair. Gerda has insisted on fixing it up and Elise obliged again so not to irritate Elsa. Her bangs were now held up in a dark blue headband and her normally frozen spiked-hair fell down straight to her neck. Elise didn't even recognize herself.

At least she was in better shape than Anna, who had turned into a nervous wreck. Half-way through a silent breakfast, her glaring side glances and scowls towards Elise had given way to sheer panic and she left her food untouched. The situation must have finally dawned on her. No surprise it took that long, Elise did peg her as the rather slow type. In the past two hours they've been sitting here waiting, Anna had broken out in tears twice, probably a result of losing an internal battle with herself. So, now not only was Elise uncomfortable, she was also stuck in an awkward situation.

"Good morning, Princess Anna, Princess Elise," an older male voice cut through the silence, startling Elise. She turned to look and recognized him instantly. "I hope you two are well." It was the man she saved yesterday.

_Oh no, he's going to try talking to me to thank me._

"Good morning, Admiral," Anna answered, "I'm doing fine, just waiting on her majesty," she lied. Elise kept quiet.

"Well, that's good," he said turning to Elise. _Here it comes._ "Princess Elise, let me just say that I am in your debt. And I don't just mean for saving my life." _Huh?_ "I mean, for saving Queen Elsa. You may not be aware, but the former King and Queen lost their lives to the sea and I take full responsibility for that loss. I would rather die than lose Elsa to the sea as well. Thanks to you neither of that happened." Elise had not expected that.

He moved closer and dropped his voice so that only Elise could hear. "Not to mention neither the Princess nor Arendelle could afford to lose her, especially the Princess." Elise wasn't sure what to say, Gerda had actually advised her to avoid contact and suggested to not speak to anyone until she had lessons on proper etiquette. So, Elise stayed quiet.

The Admiral didn't seem to take offense to her silence and finally he stepped back. "I thank you, Princess Elise. Again, I am in you debt." He bowed to her, then to Anna, and then turned to leave the room. "Good day, your highnesses." On his way out, Elise saw him shoot a glance at Anna. She couldn't see his face, but from the way Anna winced, she could tell the Admiral blamed her for everything.

With him gone, Elise had time to think about the bandages she noticed on his hands. To a casual observer, they would suspect his injuries were a result of burns from fire. Elise knew better though. They were burns from cold. When Elise had arrived on the ship she had found him with Elsa trying to get away. At first glance, Elise thought of him as a coward trying to leave her behind, but quickly noticed he wasn't trying to escape, he was actually trying to get as close to the flames as possible. When Elise had approached her unconscious twin, she found out why. Elsa was cold, colder than Elise had ever felt. When she touched her body, it was the first time Elise had ever been too cold. Only when she decided to save the Admiral too did she notice his hands. He must have been trying to carry Elsa out until she got too cold for him to touch. Curious though, that their magic continued to protect their bodies even when they were unconscious. Elise wondered what else their magic could do that the twins didn't know about.

The doors to the conference room finally opened and a smiling Elsa stepped in. From the way Anna was acting earlier and the surprised look on her face now, Elise suspected Elsa wasn't supposed to be happy. Both Anna and Elise stood up, but Anna didn't hesitate to run over to her sister. Elise was temporarily shocked however, by Elsa's outfit. It was the same one she wore the night they first met. She must have loved that blue skirt and jacket to have multiple copies of it. The sight of it however, flooded Elise's mind with bad memories. She was going to have to get used to it because apparently Elsa liked it.

"Wow, Elise you look different," Elsa said, cutting through Elise's thoughts. She noticed Elsa was holding Anna's hands. Elise must've missed the entire exchange between the two sisters. "It's a good different." Anna and Elsa shared a knowingly glance before Elsa continued. "I almost didn't recognize you. You look beautiful though."

The compliment caused Elise to flush and avert her eyes. "Oh, thanks," she said while pushing some loose strands of hairs back behind her ear. "But I think I like my old style better."

"So, Elsa, w-what's going to happen now?" Anna asked still holding onto Elsa's hands. Elise was glad to have the attention off of her.

"Great news, Anna, you didn't do it."

Anna let go of Elsa's hands and backed away. "Wait, what?" Elise was equally confused. She sworn she had heard Anna confess to the ship's wreckage last night while she was "sleeping".

"Anna, I've made a deal with them. The official story is going to be that a yeoman spilled a demijohn of turpentine that eventually ignited the fire. Your involvement will never be known by anyone. And," Elsa added with excitement building up in her voice, "the incident will have no effect on Arendelle-American relations."

Elise literally jumped at the squeal that came from Anna. She was bouncing up and down with joy now, her braids flopping back and forth.

"Oh my God, Elsa, this is amazing!"

"I know right?"

Elise wasn't convinced though. "Wait, you said a deal. What was the deal?"

Anna slowed her bouncing until she stood still. "Yeah, Elsa, what do they get in return?"

Elsa was now purposely avoiding both of their eyes.

"Elsa, what did you do? Tell me, right now," Anna demanded, all her previous joy gone.

Elsa appeared to shrink down under Anna's demand. Elise was now starting to realize how much power Anna really had over the Queen. "I...agreed to use my...my..."

"Your what?" Anna demanded forcefully as Elsa trailed off.

Elsa sighed in defeat. "Iagreedtousemypowerstohelpthem," Elsa said way too fast.

"No, you go back there right now and cancel this deal." Anna grabbed Elsa's collar and forced Elsa to face her directly. "You promised yourself, Elsa, that you would never use your powers for business. Don't do this to yourself just because of me please," Anna's pleaded, tears now falling freely. No powers for business? Elise wondered if Elsa used her powers at all.

"Anna, wait," Elsa said trying to smile and awkwardly failing. _She's so cute, if only this psychopath wasn't here balling her eyes out_. Elise thought about the act of 'balling her eyes out' and remembered last night. On second thought, maybe crying and being an emotional wreck ran in the family. _I wonder if our mother had as many breakdowns as the three of us._

"This is actually a really good deal," Elsa continued. "At first I thought they were going to take advantage of our situation, but they aren't. I would be stupid not to take their deal."

"Why?" Elsa's two sisters said in unison. Elise was very curious.

"Well, besides the obvious with you, Anna, I agreed to help out some entrepreneur they had brought along. He has some wild idea to load ships with ice, but not to transport ice, instead to transport food long distances."

"Don't they do that already?" Elise interrupted. She still didn't see what the big deal was.

"Well, yes, but the ships are still limited in range by the ice melting," Elsa answered. She was finally smiling for real at least. "My ice will take a long time to melt. Plus this guy has some crazy blueprints made up that will maximize food freshness and ice lifetime. Unfortunately, the only way to fill it with ice is by using my powers. I've agreed to outfit twenty ships with ice over the course of a few years and will make sure they stay filled for a period of ten years each. All done here in Arendelle of course."

"And..." Elise prodded.

"Oh, right, they're going to pay for it. I guess to make it look like a legit deal, or maybe they're just afraid of me, I don't know and who cares, but they're paying me for it. Paying me a lot for it."

"How much?" Anna asked quietly.

"Enough to buy a couple of steam frigates of our own," Elsa said as she took Anna's hands in her own again. Elise couldn't believe how happy Elsa looked right now. If she got any more excited she might start bouncing up and down too.

"Whoa. All that just for some ice?"

"Not just some ice, this will give the Americans a huge advantage over everyone in trade. They'll be able to transport food to places no one could even dream of transporting too. I wouldn't be surprised if we're really the ones getting the short end of the deal here." Both sisters turned to look at Elise, surprised at what she had just said as if neither expected it. Elise was surprised herself at what she had said. Since when did she know anything about international politics and trade? Then again she had spent most of her time observing those exact things with her snow fairies.

"Anyway," Elsa said letting go of Anna and walking over to Elise. Anna obediently followed her. "It's almost time for me to return. We have to finalize this deal and then move on to the real negotiations. Before I go however," she turned to Anna, "I wish to inform you of your punishment." Anna pouted.

"You're not getting off the hook that easy, missy." That mask of hers was coming back up, Elsa was getting serious now. "First order of business, you are restricted to the castle for the next two days."

"But Kristoff-"

"I'm well aware Kristoff and Olaf will be returning tomorrow," Elsa cut off and Elise cocked an eyebrow questioningly. _Who?_ "You can meet them and spend time with them in the castle here."

Anna huffed and slouched her shoulders. "Fine."

"Second, beginning Monday, you will start lessons in diplomacy and politics."

"Wh-"

"Do not interrupt me again!" Elsa cut off, her tone becoming frigid, her eyes boring into Anna. "Do you understand?" Anna nodded hurriedly. "Good. Finally, for the rest of the day, you will begin integrating Elise into the life of royalty. I want you to break out the family tree and give her a lesson on family history. Try to give a few etiquette lessons along the way too. Got it?"

"Yes, sister," Anna said obediently. Elise liked this side of Elsa.

"Speaking of which," Elsa's said turning to Elise, her voice now calm and friendly. "I'm going to have Gerda and Kai give you etiquette lessons starting in a few days. You've met them both already, don't worry they're like our family. There'll be other lesson from tutors, but for now I want to get the basics out of the way. Unfortunately, there are obligations to being a Princess of Arendelle and you'll have to fulfill them." Elsa waited until Elise nodded in understanding before continuing. "As the oldest between you and Anna, you also hold the burden of being the heir to the throne until I designate an heir. That makes you the Crown Princess. When you're not at your lessons, I'm going to request that you join me in some of my duties. It will help you get into things faster and gain some experience."

Elise wasn't exactly thrilled with all this responsibility being forced upon her. _This is what you asked for wasn't?_ _It's time to take responsibility for your actions_. On the bright side, Elise would get to spend more time with Elsa.

"Elise, you're probably going to remain the Crown Princess. Unless Anna gets her act together," Elsa shot Anna a scowl, "because I'm going to be honest, I doubt I'm going to produce an heir of my own anytime soon."

"She's afraid to lose her virginity," Anna whispered to Elise. Elsa shot her another glare. Elise just blushed.

"I'm going to spend some more time with you tomorrow, I promise, Elise. I'm way too busy today. In the meantime, could you do me a huge favor?"

"Anything, Elsa."

"No magic please today, okay? I don't want anything happening."

Did Elsa not trust her? Or did she just not trust the magic? Elise wasn't sure. "Okay, I won't use it. I promise."

"Thank you, Elise," Elsa said and peeked at the clock. "I have to go. I'll see you two tonight. Good bye, my snowflakes." Elsa gave both of them a quick peck on the cheek and turned to go. "And get started on the lessons, Anna. Oh, and no fighting, I heard you two have been sore at each other since getting up. Gerda is watching you." And then she was gone.

_Snowflake?_

Anna had simply giggled at the pet name and kiss. Elise stood there stunned, her hand holding that spot on her cheek, her eyes staring at the closed door, her mind trying to make sense of what just happened.

_I need her so badly. What is this girl doing to me?_

Elise was pulled out of her thoughts when she felt Anna tug at her arm. "Come on, jerkface, we got work to do."

* * *

Ever since leaving Elsa's presence, the two sisters had been trading dirty looks and insults. Elise hadn't even made it to lunch time before she felt her ice starting to creep to the surface. She wasn't sure how she was going to stay in control much longer. That was until Gerda had pulled her aside and offered her a pair of gloves. The servant must have noticed the frost gathering around her hands. It was really no wonder why Elsa trusted her so much. Elise remembered how Elsa used the gloves to control her powers, so she decided to give it a try.

Elise was feeling much better now with these gloves on. Of course, Anna had calmed down since lunch, too. Maybe Anna just needed to eat because it wasn't like she ate anything at breakfast.

"So, that concludes the maternal side of our family." Anna said from in front of the giant chart displayed for Elise to see. For the rest of the day Anna had given Elise a crash course on the history of Arendelle. Now, she was going over their family history. It turned out that covered most of the royalty of Europe. Elise had observed Europe for years, but she had no idea how interconnected the royal families were. Elise now realized she was related to almost every member of royalty in Europe. It seemed her mother came from the House of Hohenzollern through Corona and her father came from the House of Glücksburg through the former Duchy of Arendelle.

"There are some rumors that our maternal grandmother, the late Queen Rapunzel of Corona, had magical powers, but they were never taken seriously." Anna paused before continuing. "Now, I doubt those rumors were only rumors." That wasn't a coincidence at all. Perhaps there was an explanation to their powers after. Elise would have to ask Elsa about this later.

"Anyway, moving on to dad's side..." Elise was legitimately interested in this topic. Knowing the relationships between all these royals really filled in some gaps Elise had wondered about while observing the interactions among different nations for so many years. Everything was making sense now.

"...he was Papa's oldest brother, who had become King of the Southern Isles. He passed away a few years ago, so the current King is actually one of his sons, our cousin. He's the oldest of thirteens sons in fact." Anna started naming off the thirteen sons. Elise noticed her speaking started picking up speed. She stopped short at the twelfth son. "Anyway, apparently Papa had a falling out with his brother, something to do with him leaving the family to marry into the Southern Isles throne. I mean it was a good thing I guess because otherwise Papa wouldn't have inherited Arendelle, but-"

"Wait, slow down, Anna," Elise interrupted, using her hands to mimic her words. "I thought you said there were thirteen sons, you only named twelve." Anna's smile dropped and her eyes narrowed, but she didn't say anything.

Elise peaked at the chart in front of her, trying to locate the final name. There it was.

_Hans._

Elise giggled. "Oh, that Hans." Anna's eyes only narrowed further.

Elise composed herself. "No, but seriously, did you not know you were cousins?"

Anna's face contorted in confusion. "What? No, not at the time. Why does that matter though?"

"He's your first cousin."

"So?"

"Riiight, I get it now. Please, continue." Anna looked at Elise like she had two heads and continued on.

_Seems like incest is the norm with these people. I wonder how deep it goes?_

_Why does that matter? _a distant, perhaps more rational, part of Elis's mind questioned.

_Maybe because I think Elsa's cute and I want to kiss her right on those lips._

_What!?_ Elise's eyes widened at her own thoughts. Why was she thinking like this?

"Hey, are you paying attention?" Anna's voice cut through her introspection. Thank God, all this incest talk must be getting to her head. It was probably best to pay attention and keep out of her mind.

"Sorry, I was just thinking. I won't wander off again, teacher." Anna let the snide remark slip by and continued with her lesson.

* * *

Elise's lessons with Anna had dragged on until dinner time. After dinner, Gerda had led the two Princesses to a room in the wing where the royal family took up residence. It was Elsa's old room, the door still adorned with snowflakes. Elsa had previously moved into the royal chambers, which ended up being closer to Anna's room anyway.

"This is your room now, Princess Elise," Gerda had told them when they arrived. "Queen Elsa ordered it set up for you as soon as possible." They had wasted no time. It was already set up and ready to go. Except the wardrobe which remained empty. Elise would continue borrowing Elsa's clothes until her own were acquired.

"This was my old room," Elsa said appearing at the door. "I hope it treats you better than it did me." Elise could tell Elsa had a long day. There were bags under her eyes and her shoulders were slouched down, despite Elsa's best efforts to keep her posture straight. Elise didn't doubt that Elsa hadn't looked like that wherever she just came from. She probably kept it concealed all day until reaching this hallway, then let herself go.

"It'll do just fine, Elsa," Elise said with a reassuring smile. Elise saw Elsa's own smile slip when her eyes darted down to Elise's covered hands.

If she was concerned about Elise's gloved hands, she didn't express it nor was she given a chance. "Hey, Elsa, since Kristoff and Olaf are coming home tomorrow, can I get one more sleepover in?" asked Anna.

Elsa smiled again and took Anna's hand in her own to lead her out. "Of course," she looked back to Elise, "would you care to join us?"

Elise looked to her younger sister as she pondered her answer. Anna looked hurt after Elsa had asked Elise to join them. Elise understood what those two meant to each other. Let them have their alone time for now.

"No, thank you, I think I'd like to sleep alone tonight. I would like to redecorate my room a little first to fit my style a bit better though. That's not an issue is it?" Elise hoped Elsa knew what she meant by redecorate.

Elsa knew alright. "Of course that's fine, but I'd rather you not make a big mess. I've accidently ruined it enough times on my own." Elsa flushed at the admission. The image of Elsa sitting in this room while it froze over flashed through Elise's mind, remaindering Elise of her own control issues when she had been younger.

"Oh, don't worry, I know how to keep it from melting," Elise said boastfully. A part of her wanted to impress Elsa.

"You'll have to teach me that." Elsa hooked her arm through Anna's. "Well, come on Anna, time for bed. I'll see you tomorrow, sweet dreams, Elise," Elsa finished giving Elise one last reassuring smile. Except Elsa didn't turn to leave or avert her eyes away from Elise.

"G-goodnight, Elsa," Elise stuttered under the pressure from Elsa's transfixed state. The room was becoming thick with awkwardness.

Anna took noticed of the delay and impatiently tugged on Elsa's arm. "Come on, Elsa." Elsa was knocked out of her stupor, blinking rapidly and turning beat red. She spun on her heels and practically ran out the door dragging Anna with her.

_That was odd._

Elise ripped off her gloves and headband throwing them off to the side. She felt her magic flow through her and got to work.

* * *

"What the heck was that about?" Anna asked when Elsa had finally slowed down her pace.

"Nothing," the older sister quickly answered.

"Mmmhmm, right, I'm sure."

They remained silent until they reached Elsa's door. "She's weird," Anna declared.

"No, she's not. Don't be mean, Anna."

"She talks to herself. And I don't think she realizes she's doing it."

Elsa let her shoulders drop and sighed as the pair entered the room. "Yeah, don't you think I noticed? I honestly don't think she realizes she's not keeping it in her head." Elsa perked up suddenly. "What was she saying today?"

Anna shrugged. "Don't ask me. She mumbles too quietly, I couldn't hear her."

As they got changed Anna spoke up again on the subject. "I think I know what her problem is?"

"What?"

"She's weird. Just like her twin." Anna giggled as she stepped out from behind the changing screen. A snowball smacked her square in her face as soon as she left the cover of the screen.

* * *

**A/N:** Thanks again to my beta readers Mig and Road.

Why did I make Hans related to Elsa and Anna? It's just a gag/social commentary alluding to the fact that inbreeding wasn't uncommon in European royalty back then and first-cousin relationships weren't viewed with the same disgust as they are today in America (in fact first-cousin marriages are legal in most parts of the world outside of parts of America, China, and the Koreas)

I'm not sure when I'm going to explain the backstory of Arendelle in the fic, so I'm just going to do it now.

The Duchy of Arendelle was a collection of counties or _fylkers_ that ranged from Rogaland and the city of Stavanger all the way up the coast to Sør-Trøndelag and the city of Trondheim. The Duchy was ruled by House Aren, an offshoot branch of the House of Glücksburg, out of the Aren Castle in Bergen (more commonly called Arendelle in this fic). The Duchy of Arendelle was part of Denmark-Norway until the Treaty of Kiel in 1814. Rather than join Sweden in the United Kingdoms of Sweden and Norway, the Duke of Arendelle (Elsa's grandfather) declared independence and crowned himself the new King of the Kingdom of Arendelle. His first-born son (Hans's father) gave up the position of heir to the Arendelle throne and married into the Southern Isles throne. Crown Prince Agdar married Princess Idunn, daughter of Queen Rapunzel of Corona, and they eventually became King and Queen of Arendelle. The Southern Isles is a very small island kingdom in the Danish islands while Corona is a Prussian city-state along the Baltic coast. The title of Queen/King of Corona is ceremonial more than anything else as they're really under the control of the Prussians in Berlin.

In this universe, Tangled happened in 1780, and Rapunzel died before Elsa's coronation. The "Rapunzel" in Frozen was just one of her granddaughters.

If you're wondering about Anna's behavior and why she is this way, you're just going to have to stay tuned.

But yeah, this entire time most of Elise's "internal" dialog was just her mumbling to herself.

Thanks for reading.


	8. Chapter 8: Winter Wonderland

**Edit: I renumbered the chapters of this fic to include the prologue as Chapter 1.**

**A/N:** So, if you didn't know already, Elsa is Suffering (and if you don't know what that is, lucky you) was based off a series of greentexts called r9kElsa. There was another series of greentexts from the same place however, that never got a fic called teenElsa. I'm telling you this because my Elsa is definitely inspired by those greentexts or at least my Elsa is a grownup version of the Elsa in those greentexts. No one knows what went through canon Elsa's mind while she was growing up, but to the fill in gaps for my Elsa for this fic I present to you this pastebin and this site.

www _dot_ makimakimanga _dot_ com / teenElsa _dot_ html

www _dot_ pastebin _dot_ com / H3RA4zn4

This pastebin contains many of the teenElsa greentexts and by reading through it you'll get a basic idea of what went through my Elsa's mind while she was a teenager and before her parents' death. **By this I mean personality and thought process, not the actual events that happened to teenElsa in this pastebin.** Of course, that's what my Elsa WAS like as a teen. Now of course her personality is no longer like that, however there have been times in past chapters and this up-coming chapter where Elsa's thought process reverts back to her old ways. Also note that my Elsa's teenage self in this fic wasn't as bitchy or overly possessive as actually teenElsa from that pastebin. Remember: the events from those greentext stories **DID NOT** happen in this fic.

(This is the only time I will ever put A/N in the beginning of the chapter. I just wanted to get a shout out in to one of the inspirations for my Elsa and a very good series of greentexts)

* * *

**Chapter 8: Winter Wonderland **

* * *

Elsa had made it down to the main hall when she found Chancellor Jakobsen and Admiral Hoffman blocking the main entrance. They both bowed when she approached the door, but to Elsa's astonishment neither of them moved out of her way.

"Good morning, gentlemen." Elsa wasn't really sure how to go about this. The two advisers behavior was highly suspect and out of the ordinary. "Uh...if you would kindly move out the way, I need to get through, please." A Queen really shouldn't have to ask someone to move of her way, yet here she was.

The two men didn't budge, their faces were calm and emotionless. Elsa's mind went on the defensive as she realized they were trying to keep her from leaving the building. Was she being overthrown already?

Before Elsa could act, Chancellor Jakobsen finally spoke up. "Good morning, your majesty." His words showed no signs of hostility. A good sign so far. Then his face turned into a frown. "I must sincerely apologize for this, but we cannot allow you to leave the castle."

Elsa's hands shot up to her chest as she took a step back. Her eyes widened in fear. So, this is how her reign ends, isn't it?

"Queen Elsa, you misunderstand our intentions," Admiral Hoffman said in response to her movements. Elsa's eyes darted back and forth between the two men. "We know you wish to go down to oversee the cleanup, but we cannot let you."

Elsa had no idea what was going on, but she was calming down from her initial fear. "And why not?" It was time to get to the bottom of this though.

"You're supposed to be spending the day with Princess Elise, your majesty," said Chancellor Jakobsen. Elsa's building anxiety faded and was quickly replaced with annoyance. Is that what this was about? Yes, she planned to spend the day with Elise, but first she wanted to oversee the cleanup effort. It wasn't even dawn yet and she planned on being back by mid-morning in time to spend the rest of the day with Elise.

Elsa looked at her two advisers with displeasure. "And I will. But first—"

"No," Jakobsen cut her off, crossing his arms. "You're going to spend the entire day with her. As your advisers, we highly advise that you spend as much time with your long lost twin as possible."

"But—"

"No 'buts'," he interrupted again. "The Admiral and I can handle the cleanup and the Kingdom for the day. You two have been separated for twenty one years and you have a lot of time to make up. The last few days have been extremely stressful for you as well. You need some time to relax and reconnect with the Princess. Please, take this opportunity to have a day off, your majesty." Admiral Hoffman nodded in agreement. "Please, at least consider the offer," Jakobsen added.

Elsa puffed out her cheeks as she considered the offer, momentarily forgetting who she was standing in front of. It was an old habit Elsa had since she was a child and if she had realized she was doing it right now, she would have taken it as a sign of how worn out she really was.

_He's right, I do want to spend as much time with Elise as I can and I'm really in no mood to work right now. It's not like there's anything else going on today anyway._

Elsa blew the air out of her mouth in a huff. "Fine, I'll take the day off." The Chancellor smiled triumphantly. "Chancellor Jakobsen, I leave you in charge until tomorrow morning, but if something happens," she pointed a finger and icy glare at the Chancellor, "I want to hear about it right away. Understood?"

"Yes, your majesty," he answered smiling from ear to ear.

Elsa spun around and made her way in the opposite direction before the two advisers could say anything more. "And I'm not going to forget about this little act of subordination from you two," she added over her shoulder. She was already out of the main hall before they could answer.

Of course, she wouldn't follow through with that threat. Though she was initially annoyed that her advisers would ambush her and order her around, Elsa's building excitement was washing away all her previous feelings.

Elsa knew exactly where she was heading to first, it was to her old room, where Elise now slept. She didn't want to wake Elise yet, but she wanted to 'start' off her day with her twin as soon as possible. Now with the prospect of no responsibility hanging over her shoulder, Elsa was struck with sudden fatigue at how overworked she was. And what better way was there to catch up on sleep as well as spending time with your twin than falling asleep by her side?

Before she knew it, Elsa had arrived. Slowly, quietly she opened the door. She had to stifle a gasp at the sight. The whole room was decorated with ice. It was beautiful, but she didn't have the time to admire it now. Elsa tiptoed to the side of the bed, nervously wringing her hands together. She felt like she was a child again, asking her parents if she could sleep with them when she was scared.

"Elise," she whispered. A grunt was her only response. "Mind if I sleep with you for the next few hours?" Elise rolled over, making a noise that sounded like 'uh huh'. That was all Elsa needed. She caught herself before diving into the bed though. She was still in her dress.

Elsa looked around nervously and made sure Elise was still sleeping, then stripped out of her dress, letting her clothing pool on the floor around her. She made herself a nightgown out of ice then gently climbed into bed.

Elsa was about to fall asleep when she felt Elise shift closer to her. Really close. Next thing she knew, Elise was pressing up against her side with her arm draped over top of Elsa's body and face nuzzling into the crook of Elsa's neck. Elsa's eyes had shot open and her face was completely flushed over. Elsa wasn't sure if she could fall asleep now, but eventually the fatigue took over and she drifted off.

* * *

**Knock knock knock**

Elise tried sitting up when the sudden noise had awoken her, but was dragged back down to the bed by something holding onto her.

She had fallen back on top of it and was now staring into its face only a few centimeters away. "Good morning," said the smiling blue-eyed girl underneath her.

"Elsa?" Elise backed off onto her knees. "What are you doing in here?" Both girls were blushing profusely.

_Is it normal to always be sleeping with your sisters? Maybe it is some kind of royalty thing. _

"Uh, I had the day off and wanted to start it off as soon as possible. Don't you remember me coming in early this morning?"

"No."

**Knock knock knock**

Elise turned to face the door. "What do you want?" she shouted.

"Your highness, breakfast will be served in forty-five minutes," said the voice from the hallway.

"Oh." Elise thanked and dismissed the servant then turned back to Elsa. Her face was still bright red with a lopsided smile.

"So, you ready for today?" Elise asked. Now that Elise was fully awake, she was ready herself.

"Yes, but could you please get off me first?" Elsa asked meekly. Elise hadn't realized she'd been straddling Elsa's hips. She jumped off Elsa as fast as possible and got off the bed for good measure.

"So...what are we going to do?" Elise asked in the direction of the wall. She was trying to hide her own blush from Elsa.

"Well, first I thought, you know, we should get dressed and go down to breakfast." Elise rolled her eyes while Elsa giggled.

"Very funny. I meant afterwards."

"Oh, I know, I wanted to take you out to the courtyard where we can play with our powers." Elsa had moved out of bed and stretched. Elise couldn't help but stare as the sun shined though her platinum blonde hair. "I thought maybe we could talk while showing off to each other. Maybe we could have a snowball fight or build a snowman too. If that's okay with you...is it?"

Elise was very okay with that. "Of course, but Elsa, do you think maybe I can wear one of my dresses today?"

Elsa's eyes lit up at the question. "I got a better idea." She clapped her hands together. "Let's make our own dresses for each other."

"You mean, like, I'll make your dress and you make mine?"

"Yes. Our nightgowns are already ice, so we don't have to change out of them." Well, that was an interesting idea. Elise didn't see anything wrong with it.

"Okay then, but you can go first."

"Okay." Elsa closed her eyes and waved her hand in Elise's direction. Her nightgown started transforming into a proper dress and Elise could feel the dress forming around her. It didn't feel the same as when Elise made her own dresses, it just felt different, but Elise wasn't really sure how to explain it. It almost felt sensual. When the magic stopped swirling around her, Elise found herself in a beautiful white, short-sleeved mid-length dress heavily adorned with actual dark blue snowflakes of varying shapes and sizes. It was very simple, but extremely comfortable. Almost too comfortable.

Elise flushed and quickly waved her hand to fix her outfit at the realization of what made it so comfortable.

"What happened?" Elsa asked, her optimism gone. She couldn't see what Elise had fixed on the dress.

"You forget my undergarments." Now both twins were blushing again.

Elsa turned her face from Elise's view. "Sorry. I wasn't thinking about them." Elsa finally turned back around, her face still a little pink, but she was at least smiling again. "Do me now."

Elise closed her eyes and concentrated. She pictured the dress in her mind and let the magic flow out towards Elsa. She could feel her ice traveling up Elsa's body and when she reached her waist, Elise got a feeling that Elsa hadn't actually forgotten about her undergarments after all. She paused at the spot, considering "forgetting" about Elsa's undergarments, too. But, she brushed that thought and hesitation aside and simply created the clothing in question. The whimper that came from Elsa's direction almost ruined Elise's concentration, but she continued on.

When Elise opened her eyes, she was even more impressed seeing it with her own eyes. It was navy blue, the darkest blue Elise could make her ice, and showed off the curves of Elsa's body all too well. It was longer than the dress Elise wore, but was completely sleeveless. White rosemaling covered it in intricate patterns that looked like creeping frost. She even added the royal crest of Arendelle among the designs on Elsa's chest.

"Wow, Elise, this is amazing," Elsa said while admiring her twin's work. "You know, I meant to also comment on the room, too," she added gesturing to the ice covered room with her eyes. "They're both beyond beautiful."

Elise shifted uncomfortably on her feet. After thirteen years of being alone, Elise still wasn't sure how to properly receive other peoples' praise. "T-thanks. Shouldn't we be getting ready for breakfast?"

"Yes, I supposed we should. I'm going to go to my room to finish preparing for the day. I'll meet you in the dining hall." Elsa moved to the door quickly. "See you in a little bit." And with that, Elise was alone. Alone and a little confused. It seemed like Elsa had left in a rush, but now that Elise thought about it, the whole room had been thick with awkward tension ever since the undergarments incident.

Elise went to the bathroom to freshen up for the day herself and then made her way to the dining hall. She didn't need to be escorted because she already had most of the castle memorized. Elise had arrived on time, but Elsa was still missing. After another ten minutes though, Elsa finally arrived.

"You ready to eat?" Elsa said as she took her seat.

"I've been ready, just waiting on you."

As they ate, Elsa told Elise about what had happened earlier in the morning with her advisers. If Elsa had been planning to go out that morning that explained why she was wearing makeup when they woke up. It was only a light and conservative amount, almost unnoticeable, but Elise only noticed because their faces were about identical and Elise didn't wear makeup herself.

Elise couldn't help but stare at Elsa's face now, the reason being the same as her theory on why Elsa was late to breakfast. Elsa was wearing much more makeup now. It wasn't gaudy or overdone, it only added to Elsa's beauty, but Elise had to wonder why she had bothered getting dolled up, especially if she was already wearing some. Elise wasn't even wearing makeup now, though she had the feeling that she was going to be soon expected too.

_It doesn't make sense. She didn't say anything about leaving the castle today and I doubt Elsa would bring me out into town, especially before I've had any etiquette lessons._

"Uh, Elise." The sound of her name pulled Elise out of her thoughts and she refocused on Elsa, who was looking at her oddly with her head slightly tilted to the side and her hands neatly folded in her lap. Elise hadn't realized her mind wandered off. Elsa was probably wondering why Elise had been blankly staring at her. "Why do you do that?"

Elise struggled to find an answer. Why was she blankly staring at Elsa? Elise wasn't sure herself to be honest, so she decided to play dumb. "Why do I do what?"

"Talk to yourself like that," Elsa answered. Playing dumb paid off, but she was still out of the loop. By now neither girl had remembered the food that sat in front of them.

"I don't understand." _I really don't. What is she talking about?_

"You talk to yourself sometimes. You just did it right now."

_What!? How does she know this? Can she read my mind? Is telepathy some kind of side effect of our magic?_

"Stop, you're doing it again." Elise stopped thinking or at least tried to stop thinking. She stared at Elsa with panic stricken eyes while tightly gripping the utensil in her hand. Elsa's head tilted to the other side, her eyes slightly narrowing as she thought.

"You think you're only talking to yourself in your mind, don't you?" Elsa finally said breaking the silence. It was true at least, but Elise didn't answer. "That's okay. I do that a lot, too. I had to do it a lot when I was hiding my powers from Anna."

"I thought I was only talking in my head." Elise finally broke her own silence. "To be honest, I used to talk to myself all the time at the North Pole. I guess old habits die hard." Elise held her head down in shame, she could tell by Elsa's reaction that talking to one's self wasn't considered a social norm.

Elsa covered her mouth with her hand to stifle a giggle. "I know what you mean." Elsa was much more tactful. "Though in your defense, I didn't have the luxury to talk to myself out loud. Not to mention, I've been taught my whole life how to conceal". Elsa frowned when she noticed Elise's state of despair. "Oh, come on, it's nothing to be ashamed about. It's not like we can hear you anyway."

Elise's head perked up. What Elise was dreading even more than being socially abnormal was having Anna or Elsa hear some of the thoughts she'd been thinking. "You can't?"

"No, it's all just mumbling. Not even Anna understood what you were saying." _That was a relief. She would have to watch herself in the future though._

The two sat in silence for a few minutes as they returned to their meals. "So, where's Anna?" Elise could honestly care less about Anna, but she wanted to strike up a conversations and Anna had to be Elsa's favorite topic.

"She won't be joining us today. She's spending the day with Olaf and Kristoff." _That's a relief._ "She wasn't in my room when I freshened up, so she's probably with them already."

"Elsa, I still don't know who Olaf and Kristoff are." Elsa looked generally surprised by her admission, as if Elise was supposed to know who these two mystery strangers were.

"Oh...I would have thought Anna told you." Elise gave Elsa an incredulous look, as if Anna would willingly tell her that information. Elsa cleared her throat and continued. "Kristoff is Anna's, uh, suitor. He's that ice harvester that I told you about that helped Anna after my coronation..." Elsa trailed off as Elise snorted and started laughing.

"Oh, wow, somebody is actually courting her." Elise's laughter died under a combination of Elsa's icy glare and Elise suddenly remembering that she in fact did know who Olaf and Kristoff were. Elsa had mentioned them both when she had told Elise the story of her life that second night in the cell. "Oh, now I remember who they are. I take it Olaf is that snowman you created?"

"Yes, he is. They've been gone for the past few weeks on an ice harvesting trip. They came back today." Elise's mood dampened when she saw the displeased look on Elsa's face and heard her annoyed tone of voice. Elise swallowed, hoping that she hadn't just ruined the mood of the day. "What is the deal between you two anyway? Gerda had informed me that you two spent the whole day bickering."

Elise shrugged. "I don't know what her problem is. She treats me horribly, but I don't know why, so I treat her horribly back." Elise paused, considering whether she should ruin the mood any further with what she wanted to say next. Well, Elsa was going to have to find out eventually. "Plus she said some nasty things to me the night before the accident." Elise noticed Elsa was staring back at her with her raised eyebrows, Elise took this as a cue to continue. So, Elise continued and told Elsa everything that happened that night Anna had visited her alone. Thankfully she managed to do it while retaining her composure. Elsa's face was emotionless, but serious, by the time Elise had finished.

"I'll have to talk to Anna about this later. In the meantime, please stop fighting." And with that, Elsa's mood suddenly switched. "Come on," she said with a smile. "I believe we're finished up here. Let's go have some fun now." Elsa was smirking now as she got up and offered her hand to Elise.

Elise was a little thrown off by the sudden change of mood, but she was glad for it. Elise got up from the table and took Elsa's hand, letting Elsa lead her out to the courtyard.

* * *

Elsa wasn't sure if she would call this day relaxing so far. It was like an emotional see-saw. There was the thing with Anna, who she was going to have to have a stern talk with later. Elsa barely held herself together while Elise recounted her visit with Anna. She was dangerously close to marching off to find her younger sister and punishing her mercifully on the spot. She would get to the bottom of Anna's problem, but now wasn't the time.

Then there was confronting Elise about her self-talking problem which was more awkward than she would have thought. But the worst had to have been when Elise 'dressed her'. Elsa had spent almost ten minutes lying face down on her bed trying to recover after practically running from Elise's room. She had almost lost it when Elise made her undergarments. It sent such a good feeling through her body that was so strong that Elsa accidentally let out a soft whimper. If Elise had heard it, she didn't say anything and Elsa was grateful of that. Still, Elsa had to get out there before she turned into a flustered wreck so she took the first opportunity she got.

And then there was this feeling she was getting just by holding Elise's hand...

"This isn't the courtyard." Elise said as Elsa led her by the hand into the back gardens.

"Oh, right, yeah sorry, I decided to come here instead. It's more private back here and the last snow killed most of the autumn garden anyway." The truth was, Elsa was nervous about playing with their powers and chickened out of the courtyard idea because she didn't want anything happening, especially with the Americans there. The space was limited, but the gardens did offer a lot more privacy and more privacy meant the more Elsa could be herself.

"So, now what?"

Elsa smiled. "Let's make a winter wonderland." Elsa throw up her free hand and summoned snow, but not enough to fully cover the ground. Elise got the idea and joined Elsa with her own free hand, adding her own snow, enough to cover the gardens in a fresh, thick layer of it.

The two twins turned to one another. "Let's decorate," they said in unison followed with laughed.

As if through an unspoken agreement, Elise started decorating the interior of the gardens while Elsa decorated its perimeter. Using all her knowledge of architecture, Elsa built a wall around the gardens, securely trapping them in and everyone else out. It wasn't just a wall though as she added beautiful archways, columns, and intricate designs ranging from snowflakes to elaborate windows, doors, and even building outlines. She finished off their frozen sanctuary with a structurally sound dome that would perfectly reflect light inside during all hours of the day. Elsa wasn't sure how it looked on the outside, but she was at least sure it couldn't be seen from outside the castle walls.

By the time Elsa had finished, all the emotional baggage she was carrying was gone as were her worries and concerns. There wasn't a problem in the world that bothered Elsa right now.

"Wow, this place looks amazing, Elsa," Elise said as she came up besides Elsa and rested her head on her shoulder while she admired her twin's detailed work. Elsa was too busy with her own work to pay attention to what Elise had been up too. She turned her attention to the rest of the interior.

"Whoa." Elise had been busy alright. The dying and decaying gardens had been transformed into what could only be described as a winter wonderland. The small landscape had been completely transformed into a frozen forest. Elsa was most impressed however, by how Elise managed to give the impression that they were actually in a vast frozen forest using faux ice trees and illusions. She had used ice and snow to blend the existing foliage into the frozen forest and, to Elsa's astonishment, had even managed to do so without permanently damaging them. The clearing that Elise kept was surrounded by frozen willow trees that reminded Elsa of the description Anna had given her about the spot where she and Kristoff had first found Olaf. The thin, clear ice that made up the branches and leaves glistened in the sunlight while a gentle breeze caused them to tinkle like chimes. The breeze had to have been Elise's doing as well for they were enclosed in, but it added to the natural and organic feel of the whole scene. The sights and sounds had an overall calming effect that Elsa thoroughly enjoyed.

Elsa didn't think she could pull any of this off without adding some kind of symmetry or order, something that would have ruined the whole scene. After all, Elise had told Elsa that she enjoyed natural things and shaping the landscape so it wasn't really a surprise she could pull this off while Elsa couldn't. It wasn't like Elise could pull off the perimeter Elsa had made. Maybe that was their defining features; Elsa the structured, organized, and order-driven sister and Elise the wild, organic, and nature-driven sister.

"You ready for the best part?" Elise was indicating to a mound of snow in the middle of the clearing.

"There's something better than this?" Elsa was curious what Elise had planned. With the wave of Elise's hand, the snow mound burst into the air as hundreds of fluttering...snowflakes. They looked and acted like butterflies, but were actually snowflakes. Their gentle flying added to the serenity of the scene.

"Oh Elise, this so wonderful," Elsa said wide-eyed in wonderment as she wrapped her arm around Elise bringing them closer together.

"Thanks, Elsa." They continued to admire the tranquil scene in front of them for a few more minutes in silence. "So, that was fun and all, but I want to do something together."

Elsa smiled. "Let's build a snowman...without using magic."

So, Elsa taught Elise the art of building snowmen by hand and soon they were building snowman together one after the other. Once Elise had gotten the hang of things, Elsa started telling her about the different times she used to build snowman with Anna while Elise listened intently. Eventually, Elsa started sharing other stories of her early childhood with Anna. After their umpteenth snowman, the twins gave up and just sat in the snow reminiscing over various memories as if they had grown up together. Elsa was surprised when Elise started sharing memories of her own life before moving to the North Pole, but Elsa could tell those memories for Elise were far and few in between. Elise's accident was very traumatic and Elsa wondered if that event hadn't made Elise forget most of her life before that accident. Elsa could tell the lapse in memory was starting to frustrate Elise so she had to think fast to change the topic.

With a mischievous smile, Elsa summoned a snowball and chucked it at Elise. It struck her square in the chest, startling Elise out of her growing frustration. She looked at Elsa in shock, who was still grinning mischievously.

"Snowball fight?" she asked, but already knew the answer.

Elise smirked back. "Oh, I'll get you back for this." In a sudden instant, the two girls took off in opposite directions and their great snowball fight began. Elsa had her fair share of snowball fights with Anna, but she always had to hold back. There was no holding back now though.

"Let's lay down some rules," Elsa yelled across the clearing. "You can only use snowballs and **no** summoning snow creatures to help. We play until the other party concedes."

A single "awe" was the only thing Elsa heard from across the clearing. She could only imagine Elise now disintegrating the snow creatures she had already been creating. "Fine, but can you at least throw up a wall so we don't ruin all the scenery," Elise finally yelled back. "Wait, let me remove some of these trees so we have some more room." That was an odd request, but Elsa was willing to oblige. After Elise finished expanding their clearing, Elsa threw up her wall. It was crude, but there was no need to be fancy, she was just going to take it down when they were finished.

"I'm ready," Elsa yelled. Elsa was quick to appreciate Elise's request, but Elsa wished she would have added the rule that snowballs had to be thrown by hand. Before she could even throw her first snowball, Elsa was pelted with half a dozen snowballs, obviously tossed by magic. Soon snowballs were being tossed at a rate of fire that no unit of line infantry could dream of matching.

With the ability of infinite cover, tossing snowballs at one another became ineffective and the simple game of throwing snowballs turned into a tactical battle of movement as each twin tried to out maneuver the other's cover.

The arena quickly turned into a maze of barriers and ramparts as the two girls got closer and closer. Finally, Elsa was sure she was so close to Elise that she was only a few feet away behind one of these barriers. At these ranges it would have been ineffective to fling snowballs with her magic, so a single snowball sat in her hand at the ready. It was completely silent as Elsa crept along the wall. Elsa could walk on top of the snow without sinking in when she wanted to and this was one of those times she wanted to. She had to make as little noise as possible. There was no doubt Elise was doing the same.

Elsa reached the edge of the barrier. Elise had to be on the other side. With a deep breath, Elsa rounded the corner, snowball at the ready... but came right into Elise's body.

With an "oomph" the two girls collided and fell into the snow in a fit of laughter.

"Okay, I concede," Elsa said as she caught her breath.

"Ha ha, yeah me, too," Elise agreed.

"You're a worthy opponent, your highness," Elsa teased as she stood up and offered Elise her hand to help her up off the ground. Elsa looked around the arena after pulling Elise up. "Good call on the wall by the way," Elsa said and Elise nodded in agreement. "Hmm, it's about time for lunch though. Hey, I got an idea." Elise looked at her curiously. "You clean up in here and get this place back to normal, I'll go get us some food and we can have a picnic out here. How does that sound?"

"Great!" Elise answered.

Elsa turned and started walking to the edge of the gardens making a door in her wall so that she could get out.

* * *

When Elsa returned, picnic basket in hand, she found the gardens back to the way they were before the snowball fight with Elise in sitting in the center, mumbling joyfully to herself.

"Hey, I'm back," Elsa said catching Elise's attention. Elsa sat down next to Elise and unloaded the basket. When they got settled in, Elsa prodded for some answers. "So, no more waiting, you have to tell me about my daring rescue."

Elise gave her a lopsided smile and began recounting what had happened. How she broke out of the cell and how she managed to reach the ship without being seen. It turned out Elise had created an underwater tunnel after breaking out of her cell and used ice skates and wind to propel herself to the ship, then came up through the bottom. Elise told Elsa about her observation of Admiral Hoffman when she'd first arrived at the scene, which raised Elsa's curiosity about what else their powers could do as well.

"I still can't believe you broke those manacles, I tested them myself."

"Our powers are linked to our emotions, remember? We both know what our powers can do when our emotions get involved." Elise's comment was meant to be a logical conclusion, but they both winced at it.

"I guess that must mean you really feel strongly for me," Elsa joked. Elise's flushed red and she turned away. Elsa did the same when she realized she hadn't really meant it as a joke.

_Stop it, Elsa._

Elsa had to break the uncomfortable silence that was hanging over them now. "So, you know how to ice skate?"

"Of course, it makes getting around on ice much easier. Wait, do you, too?"

"Yeah, I learned before my accident...and I kept practicing ever since."

Elise slightly narrowed her eyes in confusion. "You did? But I thought..."

"Every once in a while I would sneak out of my room in the dead of night and practice," Elsa explained. "I usually waited until winter time when there was already natural ice, but a few times in the summer I would have to use my magic." Elsa laughed when a certain memory came to mind. "I even got caught by Anna once when I was thirteen."

Elise's eyes went wide. "Whoa, wait what? She caught you...using your powers?"

"Yeah, it was in the dead of night and she walked in on me in the ball room. I guess she was coming back from a late-night talk with her paintings or something." Elsa saw the question on Elise's face and answered before she could ask. "Anna used to spend a lot of her time talking to paintings. It helped her get through our years of separation. Anyway, when Anna saw me she was like, 'Whoa Elsa, I didn't know you had powers'. I was so scared, I just stopped what I was doing and ran straight past her and back to my room without even turning back or responding. I hid out in my room and cried all night waiting for the inevitable in the morning, but it never came. Turns out she must have been really tired, so tired that when she woke up the next day she thought it was all a dream. She didn't even tell our parents either, thank God, but she told me through my door later that day. After that night I cut back skating, I would only sneak out in the winter time when there was natural ice."

"Does Anna remember this?" Elsa's smiled faded at Elise's question.

"No, I don't think so. She's never brought it up. You would think now that she knows about my powers she'd realize it wasn't really a dream, but maybe she just forgot." Elsa let her eyes wander away from Elise, whose only response was "hmm". Another awkward silence was descending onto them. Elsa wouldn't have that. "Hey, come on, let's ice skate right now," Elsa said to break the silence.

When Elise agreed, Elsa stood up and turned the courtyard into a smooth sheet of glass-like ice. Elsa donned a pair of ice skates as Elise donned her own. Elsa took Elise's hand and they were off skating as one. Eventually, Elsa was able to prod at Elise enough to get her to start talking and talking she did. All it took was a few questions and stories before Elise was on a self-sustaining monologue about her time at the North Pole.

Soon their ice skating concluded and Elsa and Elise ended up lying in the snow together watching the sky, though Elise's story telling was uninterrupted from the change in activities. Elsa was learning a lot about Elise, from her early days struggling to build shelter to finally building a structurally-sound palace. Elise had spent most of her younger days learning to control her magic, shaping the landscape to create her idea of a perfect kingdom, and giving life to ice creatures to fulfill her needs. Elise still had to eat, so she sent snow creatures across the arctic to gather food and fuel for her to cook with. As she grew older, Elise started gaining an interest in international politics, which it seemed was a result of her fantasy that she was Queen of her own kingdom. That's when she developed those snow fairy spies that eventually led Elise to Elsa. That particle fantasy seemed to trouble Elise, Elsa could tell, so Elsa steered the topic to Elise's interest in international politics.

Elise's knowledge of foreign affairs greatly impressed Elsa and eventually the one-sided conversation shifted to Elsa's court. The twin sisters were now talking politics as they watched the sun set over the fjord. Elsa had since opened up the roof above them and Elise raised the particular spot they were lying in above the walls of the castle to give them a better view.

As dusk settled in, the pair dined on svinestek for Sunday dinner after saying goodbye to their winter wonderland and thawing it completely.

* * *

Hours later the sisters had settled into the library. Elise had shared what took up her time during her childhood and Elsa had wanted to show her twin what she did in hers by showing her the books she read as a kid. Now the two were sitting quietly on the couch with Elise lying in Elsa's lap while Elsa read stories from her favorite books. The fire they had lit earlier was starting to die out, it seemed they were both spent from a day of each other's company and sharing memories. Elsa just finished what seemed like her umpteenth book, when Elise yawned, she took that as a signal that it was probably time to call it a night. That was good, because her own eyelids were becoming heavy.

Elsa looked just as tired as she felt. "I take it you're ready for bed, too?" Elise asked. Elsa merely nodded at her twin. Elise moved to stand up and Elsa followed.

"Come on, I'll walk you to your room," Elsa said and Elise agreed wordlessly by trailing after her sister as she left the library. She must've been just as worn out as Elsa if not more.

They both walked to Elise's room in silence, too tired to talk anymore. Unfortunately, Elsa had a few things left to say.

"Elise, you're going to start your etiquette lessons tomorrow morning." Elsa waited until Elise sluggishly nodded in affirmation. "After lunch you're going to join me with work. I'm also going to introduce you to my council." Even in the dimly lit hallways, Elsa could see Elise wince. Elise was going to have to get used to people eventually. "You know as Crown Princess, you have a position on the Council. You're required to be there."

"Oh. Wasn't Anna technically the Crown Princess? Did she have to go?" As far as Elsa could tell, Elise was just asking out of curiosity rather than trying to argue the point. Elise had to know the answer to that question already.

"Well, technically yes, she was because she was next in line. And yes she was required to go, but she does not." Elise stared at her looking for an explanation. "Before the coronation, I was afraid to be that close to her all the time so I never told her it was required since Anna would have gone just as an excuse to be with me. I also ordered no one to tell her. After we reunited following my coronation, she no longer had a reason to go. I didn't press the issue with her because if she didn't go, it'd be more time for her to spend with Kristoff which would mean more time for me to spend with her when I wasn't busy. So I've been letting it slide, at least for a little bit. It was only fair considering I pushed back my own coronation by three years."

Elise turned back to front and said nothing. Maybe Elsa should have worded that better because now she had no doubt Elise was going to try delaying too. "Besides, I want you to join me on the Council. I would really appreciate you being there with me," Elsa managed to say just as Elise opened her mouth to protest. Elise shut it.

"Okay, Elsa. I'll join you." Elise didn't sound convinced, but Elsa could work with what she got.

They finally reached Elise's door. "Well, this is it, Elise. I had a wonderful time with you today, it was absolutely magical."

"Me too. It was the best day I've ever had," Elise said smiling. "Goodnight, Elsa."

"Goodnight, Elise." No one moved. They were facing each other with Elise's back to her door. Elsa stood there in silence gazing into Elise's eyes. Her eyes darted down to her lips and back up. Elsa was considering it alright. She was considering just leaning in just that little bit and planting a kiss on those beautiful, but familiar, lips. Elsa's mind went in overdrive trying to decide a course of action.

_It would just be a simple goodnight kiss. Would that really be going too far?_

Elsa never had a chance to decide, Elise decided for her. She leaned in, kissed her square on the mouth for the briefest of seconds, then spun around and ran into her room slamming the door behind her. It happened in the blink of an eye, but to Elsa it felt like an eternity just while their lips were in contact. Elsa felt as if she melted under the contact, it was one of the greatest feelings she ever felt.

Several minutes rolled by before Elsa realized she'd been staring at the door in front of her with her fingers on the spot Elise's lips. She composed herself quickly and walked as fast as she could without running to her room.

That was it, Elsa couldn't deny it anymore. It was that underlying feeling Elsa felt while with Elise that had been building up all day. It was nothing like she felt with Anna or anyone for that matter, it was so different, and it just got stronger throughout the day until it was to the point that Elsa was getting butterflies in her stomach by the mere touch of Elise. When Elise laid down on Elsa's lap in the library, Elsa almost had to get up and bolt out the door. Then there was her urge to lean in and kiss her twin. Elsa knew her intentions weren't just for a sisterly goodnight kiss. And then when it finally happened...

No, there was no denying it now. Elsa was in her love with her twin. She was a perverted freak after all, set up to be burned at the pyre and then cast into the fiery pits of hell for eternal damnation.

_Why am I such a fucking freak? I don't deserve Anna or Elise, I'm such a sick piece of shit. I don't deserve either of them or this crown. Why does Anna even like me? Things would be so much easier if she just hated me like she's supposed to._

Elsa was too busy looking at the anxiety-induced frost crackling at the tips of her finger tips to look ahead of where she was walking.

_How am I supposed to deal with these feelings? I can't be gushing over her at council meetings. And what if she finds out? What if Anna finds out?_

"Hi, Elsa!"

Elsa was shocked out of her thoughts and nearly stumbled over the snowman that stood in her path. He stood staring up at her with his arms outstretched.

"Oh, Olaf, you startled me." He continued standing there and started indicating with his stick arms. "Oh, right, sorry." Elsa leaned down and gave him a hug. "Did you have fun on your trip with Kristoff?"

"Oh yeah, I did, I can tell you all about it," he said enthusiastically. "But, hey, Elsa, can I meet your new sister first, I haven't gotten to give her a hug yet." The little snowman's smile faded into a pout.

"Oh, sorry Olaf, she already went to bed." _And I'm not going back there anytime soon. _"But why didn't Anna bring you and Kristoff to come meet her earlier?"

"Anna said we weren't allowed to." Olaf must have noticed Elsa's blank expression so he explained. "She said we should not go nowhere near that, uh...'sister-stealing she-devil succubus bitch'." It was clear from the way he said it that Olaf had no idea what any of that meant. Elsa should have been appalled, but she really wasn't surprised. She was going to have a talk with that girl soon.

"Well, I'm sorry Olaf, but I have to go to bed now. Goodnight, little guy." Elsa moved around the snowman to her door, which was only a few feet away now. He must have been camping outside her door otherwise he'd be with Anna. But if he wasn't with Anna, that meant...

Elsa turned around at the threshold of her room to find that Olaf hadn't moved. She rolled her eyes at him. "Why are you not sleeping with Anna?" Elsa didn't hate the little guy, but she'd much rather preferred Anna dealing with him.

"I'm going to sleep with you tonight. Kristoff and Anna kicked me out, they wanted private time."

_There goes a good night of rest._

Not that Elsa was going to get any sleep anyway, with this new realization on her mind. "Well, come on, Olaf." She was going to have to have a big talk with Anna.

* * *

**A/N:** Thanks to my two beta readers as always.

If you imagined Elise skating through a tunnel made out of ice under water like Frozone, then you are correct. That's basically what she did, after breaking out of the cell in a similar fashion as Elsa did in the movie. There will be more details about that in future chapters in case you're still confused.

As for that scene with the snowball fight, I like to compare it to that Spongebob episode, "Snowball Effect", and the scene where Squidward joins the snowball fight and throws snowballs at fully automatic. That's pretty much how fast Elise and Elsa were throwing snowballs. And they weren't really throwing them, more like flinging them with their magic. That second wall was necessary, otherwise they would have destroyed Elise's pretty forest.

I did plan on keeping Olaf and Kristoff out of the story until this point, fyi. I didn't forget about them and use "they've been away ice harvesting and now they're back" as a cop-out, I swear. However, I don't really intend for Kristoff and Olaf to be major characters in this fic so they might get even less time in the spotlight than the other minor characters (like the councilmen and the Americans).

Yes, Elsa in this fic used to use her magic while isolated from Anna, though very sporadically. Ice skating was one of her passions and the only thing that she would ever use her powers for. As it says in the chapter, she usually waited until winter, so the only thing she was really doing was making herself ice skates. There were exceptions, like the time she got caught, but as Elsa grew older she stopped doing that and by the time her parents died, she stopped skating altogether until after the coronation.

Going back to the A/N at the beginning of the chapter, I'd like to point out that the whole memory of Elsa getting caught using her magic by Anna was inspired by a specific teenElsa greentext. It can be seen here:

i _dot_ imgur _dot_ com / qkJW69s _dot_ png

In this greentext, Elsa didn't actually get caught, but the whole dream idea was what inspired me.

Also I've been busy this weekend, so I haven't even started Chapter 9, so next update might be after next weekend instead of during next weekend. After I post Chapter 10 though, updates will become sparse until the end of August so sorry in advance.

Again thanks for reading.


	9. Chapter 9: Breaking Point

**Chapter 9: Breaking Point**

* * *

Elise nervously wrung her hands together outside the council chambers as she waited for Elsa's arrival. Once again, Elise was wearing one of Elsa's dresses with her hair down and held back in a head band. For the first time in her life, Elise was also wearing makeup. It was all part of her integration into the royal family.

"Are you ready?" asked Elsa as she came up to Elise. Elise stared at her sister in terror and shook her head.

"Oh, come on, it's not going to be that bad," Elsa tried reasoning with a smile. "All you have to do is get through the pleasantries at the beginning and leave the rest to me. Do you remember your lessons from this morning?"

Elise remembered alright. Starting at the break of dawn, Elise had spent all morning and a good portion of the afternoon on the receiving end of lectures and etiquette lessons from either Kai or Gerda, and sometimes both at once. The lessons were nerve-wracking, stressful, overwhelming, frustrating, and generally a pain in the ass. They were trying to change her entire lifestyle, from the way she walked to the way she ate and now Elsa expected Elise to go into this Council meeting and act like this stuff was second nature.

"Yes, I remember, but—"

"You'll be fine, Elise," Elsa interrupted while taking Elise's hands in her own. "I'll be there with you the entire time...wait, what is this?" Elsa's eyes were now narrowing at the gloved hands she was holding, her smile had since disappeared.

Before Elise got a chance to explain why she was wearing Elsa's old gloves, Elsa tore them off and threw them both to the side.

"You are not wearing these, is that understood?" Elise opened her mouth to argue the point, but Elsa interrupted again. "These gloves are nothing but a trick. They don't really work, they just trick you into thinking you have control. I made the mistake of believing they work and I'm not going to let you too."

Elise was taken aback by Elsa's comment, but Elsa grabbed her hands again before Elise could physically back away. "I do have control, better control than you at least," Elise countered and she could see the hurt in Elsa's eyes, but she was too upset to let it affect her rising anger.

"That's odd. From what I've been hearing, the opposite is true," Elsa quickly retorted, her expression undeniably smug. Gerda and Kai must have been reporting to Elsa about her control problem and how she leaked magic when she got angry, which had been a lot over the past few days.

Elise squeezed Elsa's hands as the anger swelled within her. "Your rules and customs are absolutely ridiculous, so ridiculous that the only way to properly teach someone them is to indoctrinate one from birth."

Before the last word left Elise's mouth, Elsa's expression softened and her eyes looked down. Elise followed Elsa's gaze to their conjoined hands and the ice now crawling up Elsa's arms. Elise tried jerking her hands away in panic, but Elsa held tight.

"Elise, calm down," Elsa ordered while Elise struggled to get away. "Take a deep breath and calm down. You can't hurt me, remember?"

Elise stopped struggling and tried to calm herself down by taking a deep breath. "Elsa, I-I'm sorry, I was just really angry. I don't know how to control myself when I get this angry." Elise stared down at the floor in shame. She really didn't know how to control herself when she got frustrated, she never figured out how. Yesterday, Elise had told Elsa all about her life at the North Pole. What she didn't tell Elsa however, was how many magic-fueled tantrums she went through whenever she had a failed attempt at creating something or when one of her ice creatures didn't properly fulfill her commands. If her ice creatures didn't naturally love Elise, they would fear her.

"Hmm, I see. This sounds familiar, but you just have to learn control."

"That's easier said than done, Elsa." Elise snapped back. "The gloves were working just fine."

"For now, or at least until you figured out it was all in your head. Let me give you some advice." Elsa pulled Elise into a hug and rested her head on Elise's shoulder. "Whenever I feel like my control is slipping, usually when I'm anxious or nervous, I just think of the people I love the most. I just think of how much I love my Anna and how much she loves me, and then I regain control. It's that simple, you just have to let the warmth of love wash over you."

That sounded a little too easy to Elise. Then again, Elise never loved anyone and no one ever loved her. Things were different now though. Still, Elise rolled her eyes. "Well, who could I think of that loves me?" she asked sarcastically.

Elsa's nostrils flared against Elise's neck as she deeply inhaled against the skin of Elise's neck, causing the black-haired twin to shiver. Suddenly, Elsa dropped all her weight for Elise to support on her own "Me," Elsa whispered.

_What the fuck is going on?_ Elise now found herself in a curious situation. She was standing outside of the council chambers, which should have started right now, with the Queen of Arendelle practically swooning in her arms.

"Uh, Elsa, I think we're running late." Elsa's half-lidded eyes shot wide open and she launched herself off of Elise with enough force to almost knock her twin over.

"Shit...uh, I mean, you're right, let's go." It was the only thing Elsa said as she turned towards the door and led Elise to the meeting, her face was unreadable.

Elise eyed her curiously as she followed Elsa to the doors. From the angle she was at, Elise could just catch Elsa mouthing words to herself. It looked like 'appeal, won't reel' or something like that. Elise was still trying to process what had happened in her.

_I'm not really sure what just happened...but I think I liked it._

* * *

"...and it is my honor to serve Arendelle as the Crown Princess, both on this Council and as heir to the throne," Elise finished up her introduction to Elsa's Council with a nervous smile.

"Well then, now that introductions are out of the way, let's get down to business," Elsa followed up while taking her seat. Elise made sure to wait until Elsa was fully seated before taking her own seat as was customary. The other Council members followed after Elise was seated. "For the first order of business, I want to go over is the progress of the cleanup of the harbor. Admiral Hoffman, what do you have to report?" Elsa continued turning to the head of Arendelle's Navy.

Things were going well so far. Elsa had introduced Elise to her Advisers and vice versa, then they shared some courtesies and greetings, and finally Elise gave her little introduction. Elise's active part in this meeting was finished and now all she had to do was listen. To listen and think about what had just happened five minutes earlier outside the room.

Elise mentally berated herself. This was not the best time to be introspecting, least she start mumbling to herself in front of these people. It was probably best just to pay attention and take notes.

_Oh right, I don't know how to write. I guess I'll just pay attention then._

Under the table, Elsa kicked Elise in the shin. Elise shot Elsa a snarl, but her mind quickly caught up to itself and Elise backed down, returning to the same stoic expression and regal posture Elise was trying to mimic from Elsa. Elsa must have caught her mumbling to herself again, it was the only explanation. Elise made a quick once-over of the men around the table, but it appeared none of them had noticed the exchange between the twins. All of them were actively avoiding looking in her direction, though she suspected they all wanted to stare at their Queen's identical twin in awe.

Elise couldn't blame the Councilmen though, considering the Queen and Princess's identical looks, Elise wanted to stare at Elsa in awe herself.

For the second time, Elise had to mentally berate herself and she tried to refocus on the conversation at hand. The Admiral had already finished up his report and the Council now moved on to the topic of foreign affairs and the negotiations with the Americans Elsa had partaken in during the morning. The Foreign Minister and Chancellor were currently arguing over the reactions of other nations, mostly Prussia and Russia, to a provision in which Arendelle would officially respect America's Monroe Doctrine.

If Elise couldn't take notes or properly pay attention, then the only thing left for her to do was join the conversation. She patiently waited for a lull in the speaking and when Elise got it, she took her opportunity.

"Well, I for one neither believe the Prussians nor will the Russians care much to damage our relations with them if her majesty agrees to such a provision." All eyes shot to the Crown Princess in shock. From the corner of her vision, Elise could see the fear flash in Elsa's wide eyes. If the twins were telepathic, there was no doubt Elsa would be screaming at Elise to stop right now. Elise ignored the unvoiced pleas to stop. "The Holy Alliance is hardly relevant anymore and both the Prussians and Russians are much more concerned about keeping Sweden-Norway in check than keeping the Bourbon Dynasty in control of the Americas. Besides, if anyone really wanted to contest the American doctrine, they'd have to deal with the British Royal Navy first."

Judging by the shocked faces, Elise suspected that these men had all assumed she was clueless to the world. However, it was the nods of agreement from a few of the advisers that caused her confidence to soar. Elise took the cue and continued.

* * *

A few hours later, Elsa led Elise into her study for the first time.

"Well, that went well," Elsa said as she shut the door behind Elise. It actually had.

"Yeah, you're right, it did," Elise commented as she surveyed the room.

Elsa crossed her arms. "Though I do remember telling you to leave the talking to me."

Elise looked back at her sister guiltily. "Sorry, but I couldn't just let my mind wander."

Elsa let down her arms and smiled. "Don't worry about it, you did well and I think you even impressed them." Elise brightened up instantly at the compliment. "Wait, what was on your mind that was much of a problem?"

As soon as she asked that, Elsa wasn't sure if she really wanted to know. She feared it had something to do with practically swooning in Elise's arms right before the meeting. That incident was a mistake on her part and so inappropriate that Elsa was still panicking over Elise's reaction. She had been such an idiot for allowing it to happen in the first place, but Elsa couldn't help losing all control when she inhaled Elise's scent, it was absolutely intoxicating. She would have to be more alert around Elise from now on and probably should avoid contact.

_Oh God, it's happening all over again. Soon I'm going to be pushing her away to protect her, just like with Anna. I can't let that happen again, I have to control myself._

Thankfully for Elsa, Elise had no intention to discuss what had been on her mind. "Oh, it was nothing." Elsa let go of the breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. "So, this is your office? It's kind of cozy, I like it."

"Yep, and that's the 'royal desk'." Elsa pointed out as Elise walked over to her paper covered desk. "All of this was father's, he loved this room. If I wasn't in my room or at private lessons, I was in here learning from him." Elise picked up some of the papers from a stack on the desk. "And now the protégé has become the mentor and you're going to work with me," Elsa joked.

"So, what is all this?" Elise eyed some of the reports.

"They're mostly reports that have backlogged over the past few days and a few minor decrees and petitions I need to sign."

Elsa turned one of the papers over to face Elsa, a grin creeping onto her face. "This is a letter from Russia...asking for your hand in marriage."

Elsa blushed and snatched it out of Elise's hand. "Give me that." Elise started digging through the rest of the pile.

"This whole pile is marriage proposals."

"Yes, I know, and I have to answer all of them. I've been trying to get them done for the past week, but I keep getting distracted by certain people." The indirect jab at Elise went unnoticed.

"What do you have to do with them?"

_Toss them in the fire_, Elsa wanted to say but instead she said, "I have to write back and politely decline."

"You're not going to accept any of them? Do you even read them?"

"No and yes, I at least read them. Can we get to work now?" Elsa took the stack off the desk and shoved them into one of the drawers, then collapsed into her seat and started rubbing her eyes.

Elise wasn't ready to drop the subject though. "Why not, Elsa? Aren't you expected to bear an heir? Does this have something to do with what Anna said the other day about losing your...virginity?"

Elsa's face turned beat red and she stopped all movement. But she recovered fast, and glared at Elise. "Elise, that is not appropriate!"

"So, it is?" Elise's face had somehow remained stoic and clear. She was learning quickly from Elsa.

Elsa sighed. "In case you weren't aware, bearing an heir requires...sexual relations and I have no intention of having sexual relations with anyone. Nor do I have the time to be involved in a romantic relationship with a suitor." That last part was a lie, Elsa would make all the time in the world to be with Elise if she could.

_Of course you would you sick freak._

Elise didn't say anything as she contemplated Elsa's explanation so Elsa took the opportunity to start reading over reports. "You know, you'll eventually stop shooting ice out of your crotch, if that's what you're afraid of," Elise finally whispered, still standing over Elsa's desk. Elsa stopped reading mid-sentence while frost found its way on the paper despite Elsa's face feeling like it was on fire.

"We'll talk about this later," Elsa said between gritted teeth. Her abashment was beginning to turn into irritation. "Elise, please take a seat so we can get started, I have a lot of work to do."

Elise finally dropped the subject and obeyed her Queen. "Okay, but what am I supposed to do? I can read somewhat, but I can't write."

Elsa looked up surprised, she hadn't thought about that. She was lucky Elise could read at least. "Uh, well, think of yourself as kind of my personal secretary for now. Help me keep all these papers organized and ordered. Also, start to get yourself familiar with some of these reports." Elsa reached into a drawer and pulled out two quills with ink bottles and some blank paper and handed one of the quills and the paper to Elise. "And you can start practicing your writing with these, too."

Elise took the quill, ink bottle, and blank papers without objection, but stared blankly at Elsa. Elsa took the hint and grabbed one of the papers back and wrote out the entire alphabet on it, then handed it back to Elise. "Start by copying this page a few times in your free time. First, we're going to go over these reports."

Elise nodded in acknowledgment as she took back the sheet of paper. Elsa finally was able to get started on her paperwork. It was already late afternoon and Elsa wasn't going to call it a night any earlier than midnight. It was going to be a long evening for both of them.

* * *

Elise dragged her feet down the hall as she made her way to the library. It was improper, but Elise didn't care at this point. She was tired and very agitated. The last four days had made Elise appreciate every minute she had up at the North Pole. She and Elsa had worked on paperwork until midnight on the first day. The work was draining and she wanted nothing more than to sleep in but, the next day Elise had to continue her frustrating lessons as usual in the morning. After her lessons, Elise went to lunch and unfortunately it turned out to be lunch with Anna, though Elise had finally gotten to meet Olaf and Kristoff. Olaf was incredibly childish and very clingy, though Elise couldn't hate him simply because he was Elsa's creation. Elise had barely said anything to Kristoff and vice versa which was surprising because Elise expected different from what Elsa had told her about the ice harvester's fascination with Elsa's powers and ice. It was clear though from the scowling that Anna directed at Elise made him uncomfortable and Elise wouldn't be surprised if his silence towards her wasn't the doing of that bitch of a sister.

After lunch, Elise had joined Elsa in her study for even more paperwork and again they worked well into midnight. Thankfully, Elsa had managed to get through her backlog and there was no Council meeting. The twins even made a game out of reading Elsa's marriage proposals with Elsa reading them out loud in funny voices. The third day wasn't much better, more frustrating lessons that started way too early and another lunch with the bitch, her submissive suitor, and that snowman that was starting to become obnoxious. Thankfully, when she joined Elsa, there was less paperwork to do. Unfortunately, Elsa had a lot of one-on-one meetings with her advisers, a meeting for all seven of them in fact, including one with the head of a local noble family. Elise attended all of them, thankfully only on the sidelines.

As they finished up, Elise had finalized her opinions on Elsa's Councilmen. Her favorite was the Admiral followed by the Chancellor. They were both very kind and respectful to Elsa and Elise herself and Elise knew they were both family friends. She wasn't too fond of the General and Foreign Minister though, they seemed hot-headed and confrontational with their Queen. Elise didn't have much of an opinion on the Ministers of Commerce, Agriculture, and Treasury, though the Minister of Treasury kept looking at her with distrust.

Elise was starting to come to the conclusion that her twin sister was a complete workaholic. The bags under her eyes grew more noticeable each day, no matter how much makeup Elsa tried to cover them up with. Elise suspected Elsa wasn't getting much sleep either, Elise thought she was probably waking up early to work, even though the negotiations with the Americans started at the same time as Elise's lessons. Elsa also barely even stopped to eat. Elise hardly saw her sister eat lunch and only remembered her having a small supper in her study. In fact, Elsa hadn't taken a break from working since they started on Monday.

The fourth day had finally arrived with more early morning lessons for Elise and by then her patience was running extremely thin, despite Gerda and Kai both claiming that Elise was making progress with her etiquette lessons. Thankfully, Elise had an Anna-less lunch and she didn't have to go straight to work with Elsa afterwards. Elsa was in the middle of a private meeting with someone who she wouldn't reveal the identity of to Elise. Luckily, this gave Elise a little break that she was going to use to practice her writing in the library.

Just as Elise reached the last stretch to the library, her stomach dropped as Anna came storming out of her destination. Elise couldn't deal with Anna right now for there was simply no way she could hold herself back if a confrontation happened between the two. Anna continued stomping in Elise's direction with some books under her arms and her eyes to the ground. She hadn't noticed Elise yet, but the younger sister looked as if she was fuming over something so a confrontation was almost guaranteed to happen if Anna noticed her.

Elise held her breath and shifted to the opposite side of the hallway as she neared Anna. It was all for nothing, as soon as Anna came within a few feet of Elise she took notice of her. It hadn't helped that Elise was unintentionally staring at her.

"What are you are looking at?" Anna demanded with a scowl. She had stopped walking, Elise did the same.

"What's your problem, freckles?" Elise shot back. Elise was already balling her hands into fists.

"Argh, I'm so sick of looking at your face!" Anna yelled.

"Dumbass, I have the same face as Elsa. Are you sick of Elsa's face too?"

Anna realized her mistake, but it only made her angrier. She spent a few seconds struggling to find a comeback. "No, because, uh...her face doesn't have a bitch behind it like you!"

Elise clenched her jaw. "You are such an ungrateful brat, you know that? Elsa would be better off without you!" Elise felt satisfaction at Anna's shocked face.

Anna narrowed her eyes. "Why don't you just run away again?!" Then she dropped her voice dangerously low. "And try not to go on another killing spree on your way out." This time it was Anna who felt satisfaction at her sister's expense. Her insult had come out of nowhere and caught Elise off guard. Elise didn't even know how Anna knew about that...unless she was just bluffing.

It took all of Elise's self-control and practice not to impale Anna on a spike of ice right there and then. Elise had been practicing using Elsa's advice at keeping the magic in when she got angry, but she'd been getting angry a lot over the past few days. The practice was the only reason Anna was still alive right now. But this was too much for what little control she had left. Elise was speechless and she had to do something, so she did the only thing she thought of that didn't involve killing the younger girl.

Elise brought her fist up and sucker punched Anna straight in the face.

* * *

Elsa knew she was overworked between the negotiations and trying to catch up with all the missed work from last week. Really overworked this time, it was worse than normal. Elsa could tell she was overworked when she found herself trailing ice and snowflakes as she walked down the hall. If Elsa hadn't lost control of her powers at her coronation, surely she would have done so at some point after. Either that or she would have simply killed herself, implying that her magic would even allow Elsa to harm her own body.

Elsa was on her way to the library now to find Elise. Her secret meeting with her spymaster and head of her secret police had been canceled, he was the only person in the Kingdom that could cancel on the Queen, and so she intended to find Elise to get started on their work for the day. Thankfully, her workload was light for this afternoon so she thought she would help Elise with her writing practice.

All she had to do was hold off until Saturday, just the rest of today and tomorrow, which was the first break from the negotiations with the Americans. Then she could finally take a breather and get to see Anna. Since Monday morning, Elsa had only seen Anna twice and Elsa still had to talk to her little sister about Elise.

As Elsa neared the library, she heard a commotion coming from around the corner. She increased her pace and turned the corner...just in time to see Elise punch Anna in the face.

In that moment, Elsa had lost all control. She was too worn down to even try. An instinct took over once again, one she'd felt only twice before; once on the North Mountain and once only a little more than a week before. In the blink of an eye, and with barely a thought given, Elsa found herself next to her twin. Elsa had enough awareness to notice the horrified expression on Elise's face and the fear in her eyes, but beyond that, Elsa had no control over her body. Rage, pure rage, was the only thing Elsa felt as she grabbed Elise and pinned her to the wall behind her.

Elsa felt her right hand tighten. Then she noticed Elise, with her back up against her wall, was standing taller than Elsa. No, not standing, hovering off the ground. Then Elsa noticed what her right hand was tightening against...Elise's throat. Elsa directed her narrowed vision up to Elise's pleading, tear-filled eyes. There was so much fear, but in that moment, she didn't care. Elsa gazed into her twin's eyes and Elise gazed back as Elsa squeezed the life out of her.

* * *

**A/N:** Thanks again to my two beta readers.

I lied, this update was a little earlier than expected. Also, this chapter starts on a Monday and ends on a Thursday in case there was any confusion.

I forgot to mention, I renumbered the chapters. This was supposed to be Chapter 8, but now it's Chapter 9.


	10. Chapter 10: Heart-to-Heart

**Chapter 10: Heart-to-Heart**

* * *

"ELSA!"

The scream sounded like a faint echo at the back of Elsa's mind. She faintly recognized the voice, but it didn't break her concentration.

"ELSA, LET HER GO!"

Now the screaming was starting to break her concentration. Now Elsa recognized the voice. It was her little sister, Anna.

"ELSA, YOU'RE GOING TO KILL HER, STOP!"

The screaming finally broke her concentration and Elsa's mind snapped back to reality. She found herself in front of her twin...and with her hand around Elise's throat.

In the flash of a second, Elsa relaxed her grip and recoiled back in horror causing Elise to drop to the floor in a heap, coughing as she tried to regain her breath. Elsa was too horrified to speak or move. When Elise finally caught her breath, she angled her eyes upward and met Elsa's own. Elsa could see the fear being directed at her and it made her heart sink even deeper. Then, without warning, Elise bolted upright and ran down the hall, disappearing from view.

Elsa didn't move, instead she just stared down at her hands. "What have I done?" she whispered to herself, unaware of the tears flowing down her cheeks.

It was Anna's hand on her shoulder that finally pulled Elsa out of her daze. Elsa spun around to face her sister, and quickly noticed the black and blue ring that formed around her eye and the tears that fell down her face. Anna was looking back at her, not with anger or fear, but with anguish and despair. Before Elsa could think, Anna wrapped her arms around Elsa in a crushing embrace.

"You're not running away either," Anna commanded. Elsa wasn't even considering it, but she didn't say anything. "You almost killed her. Why?" Anna finally whispered.

"I thought you were in danger," Elsa answered at normal volume. "I-I didn't mean to hurt her, I swear."

Anna let out a guilty sob as she loosened her grip on Elsa, maybe finally convinced Elsa wasn't going to bolt, too. "I'm sorry."

Elsa was taken aback. "What? No, Anna, I messed up. I lost control and alm-"

"No, Elsa, this is my fault...again," Anna interrupted, pushing off of Elsa to face her, but not letting go. "I pushed her into hitting me. I've been so mean and rude to her. I caused all of this."

Elsa knew she was going to have to have this conversation eventually, so it might as well be now. "But why, Anna? What did she do to you to deserve that?"

"I was just...jealous. You spend all your time with Elise now and I thought I was going to lose you to her." Elsa considered Anna's explanation. It was a sound excuse, though very childish. Elsa had been spending much more time with Elise than Anna and Anna never had to deal with sharing Elsa with anyone outside of business before. "Sometimes you act head-over-heels for her, I've never seen you like that, Elsa. If she wasn't your sister, I'd say you were in love with her and it scared me."

Elsa's throat went dry. _Am I that obvious?_ "You were scared because you thought I was in love with my twin?" she asked nervously. There were only two ways Anna would take that question; either as a confession of guilt or a really stupid question.

"Huh? No, I was scared you were going to forget about me." Thankfully, Anna seemed to take it as a really stupid question.

"Oh, Anna, I would never forget about you or stop loving you. Not for anyone."

"I know." Anna dropped her eyes to the ground. "I was stupid and now I...I ruined your whole relationship with Elise."

"No, I did. I shouldn't have lost control like that..."

Anna brought her hand up to Elsa's face and pushed a finger to her lips, silencing Elsa mid-sentence. "Elsa, just go to her. I promise, no, I swear I'll make this up to you both, but right now you need to go to her. Don't let her run away. Trust me on this, Elsa, you cannot let her slip away."

Elsa just nodded. Anna was right. She needed to go find Elise and make things right before it was too late, and with that, Elsa turned and ran down the empty hallway.

* * *

Elise had curled up between a tree and the castle walls as she sobbed into her hands. When Elsa had let go of her, she had every intention of running out the gates and all the way back to the North Pole like Anna had suggested. Elise had no reason to stay, she ruined everything with Elsa and yet, she couldn't make herself leave. So, here she was, hiding out in what appeared to be a concealed spot in the gardens. She could have simply gone back to her room after she had decided to not run back to the North Pole, but Elise was scared. Elise was scared of what Elsa would do to her when she found her. Would she kill Elise on the spot or banish her? Or maybe throw her back in that cell.

Lost in her thoughts, Elise hadn't noticed the person walk up to her until they had rested a hand on her shoulder. She tensed up and clenched her eyes tighter. She just hoped whatever came was quick.

Elise was unprepared for when the figure sat on the ground beside her and started stroking her hair and spoke soft and soothing words to her. Elise couldn't make out what they were saying over her own sobbing, but she recognized the voice and it only made her more confused. Elise opened her eyes and removed her hands to confirm her suspicion.

"Anna?" Elise wasn't sure if this was good news or bad news.

"Yes, I know I'm probably the last person you wanted to see, but I have something that I need to say before Elsa finds you." Elsa was looking for Elise after all, but Elise still wasn't sure if that was good or bad.

"Please, don't blame her for this, Elise," Anna continued. "Or yourself, this was my fault." The bruise around Anna's right eye said otherwise though. Anna had been crying, Elise could tell, and it didn't look like it was from the pain from the hit. "I don't really hate you." Elise was surprised by Anna's words. _What happened after I left?_

"Could've fooled me." Elise hadn't meant to say that out loud, but it was rather audacious for Anna to claim something like that after the past week.

"I know. I'm a big, selfish idiot. The truth is...I've been jealous of the attention Elsa gives you. I've always had Elsa to myself and even then most of the time I didn't have her. I know you won't understand, but I can't lose her again and I was afraid I was going to. She loves you so much, Elise."

"No, I think I understand. Elsa means the world to me, too." _And now I've ruined it._

Anna smiled and started wiping the tears off of Elise's cheeks. "Listen, I'm really sorry for the things I've said and done to you. You didn't deserve any of it and I understand if you won't forgive me, but Lord knows I'll try to make up for it." Anna wrapped her arms around Elise in a hug.

Elise's crying had finally subsided as she considered what Anna had just told her. It made sense, the whole jealousy thing. Anna had even told her before that she would do anything to not lose Elsa. But could Elise really hold this against Anna? After all, Elise barely even attempted to play nice with Anna herself. Not to mention, Elsa spoke very highly of Anna, and Anna's actions, as misguided and irrational as they were, kind of proved how much she valued her relationship with Elsa.

Elise decided she'd think about everything later, but in the meantime she would start working with Anna rather than against her. So, as a sign of good will, Elise returned the hug that Anna was currently giving her. Elise could feel Anna relax when she did and so assumed that Anna was satisfied with just a return hug.

"So, you said Elsa was looking for me?"

"Yes. To make things right again." Anna still hadn't released Elise, but Elise didn't mind, she was actually enjoying it. Anna really was like a bundle of warmth, which surprised Elise as she expected her other sister to be colder than even Elsa despite not having ice powers.

"How did you find me first, if I may ask?"

Anna laughed. "It's because sometimes I know Elsa better than Elsa knows herself. She headed to the main gate first because she thought you ran away since that's what she would do in your situation and must've thought you'd do the same. But I know Elsa, she wouldn't run away from the castle anymore, even if she thinks she would."

"But that doesn't explain how you found me?"

Anna had to repress another giggle. "Elsa wouldn't run away from the castle and she wouldn't go to her room because she knows it's too obvious. It was just about looking elsewhere and you happen to be in one of our favorite childhood hiding spots."

"Oh, but I'm not Elsa though." Anna wasn't getting to the point fast enough and it only made Elise's curiosity grow. Thankfully, it was taking her mind off of other things.

"You could've fooled me." Anna took Elise's silence as a cue to continue. "You two are so similar and it absolutely disgusts me now that I had ever treated you wrongly. I might as well been treating Elsa like crap. You have your minor differences, but you're basically the same person. Now I realize that if Elsa lost you, I'd basically be losing her too because without each other, you two aren't complete. And I could never love Elsa but then hate you at the same time because it would mean I hated Elsa."

_Alright that was confusing, but it kind of makes sense. Elsa and I are so similar, that Anna couldn't hate one and not the other._

"I love you both," Anna said, squeezing just a little bit more.

"Me too," said Elise. Elsa was right about Anna after all.

Anna finally ended their drawn out hug. "But I think I should give you two some space now." Elise noticed her eyes were directed at something behind Elise.

Elise turned around and found Elsa standing over them, smiling wide. Wordlessly, Anna got up and made her way back to the castle, it was Elise and Elsa's time now, she wouldn't intrude. It seemed like forever that the twins were simply looking at each other. Finally, a sob escaped Elsa and she dove forward onto Elise, knocking her sister onto her back. As Elsa lay on top of her, Elise could feel her crying softly. Elise wrapped her arms around Elsa and held onto her tightly, she could feel tears of her own coming back.

They stayed like that for a few minutes. Both tried apologizing and both claimed there was no reason for the other to apologize for, but it didn't stop either of them from continuing to say sorry to the other.

Their sobbing died down and Elsa lifted her head up to speak. "I think I need to take a break, a few days at the least. This wouldn't have happened if I wasn't so overworked."

"This wouldn't have happened if a lot of things were different, stop getting caught up in it," said Elise.

"No, I've been so worn out and now with this incident I don't think I can last any longer. I was thinking of taking a trip to my ice palace on the North Mountain. Just you and me for a few days; no work, no lessons, no distractions. W-would you like that?"

Elise would love that more than anything actually. _And finally a chance to see Elsa's ice palace in person, too. _"I would love to. When can we leave?"

"Tomorrow morning." That was sooner than Elise expected, not that she was complaining. "I can make arrangements tonight and we can be off until Monday. That's three whole days of just the two of us."

"Let's do it."

"Okay then." Elsa got up off Elise then pulled Elise up after her. "We're taking the rest of the day off too. I'll go make some arrangements for our leave and then we can have an early dinner. I want to leave early in the morning so we're going to have to go to bed early."

Elsa hooked her arm through Elise's and started leading her back into the castle. "So, who's going to watch the Kingdom while we're gone?"

Elsa smirked. "Leave that to me."

* * *

Chancellor Jakobsen and Admiral Hoffman sat uncomfortably on the opposite end of the table from Princess Anna and Queen Elsa. The two men hadn't heard what had happened, except that the Queen's top servants had ushered all personnel away from the library area where apparently some kind of commotion had been going on. The Royal family had to have been involved considering the Queen and Princess across from them had been very obviously crying earlier. And then there was Princess Anna's swollen black eye which was currently being covered by the Queen's frost-covered hand to help keep the swelling down.

"Thank you for coming on such short notice, gentlemen," Elsa began.

"Anything for you, your majesty," said Chancellor Jakobsen.

"I regret to inform you though, that I will be taking my leave starting tomorrow morning and it will last until Sunday night."

"But, your majesty, this is such short notice. There is much planning that needs to be done and don't forget the meet-"

"I know, but it has to be done," Elsa said cutting the Chancellor off. That was the final word and the Chancellor decided not to argue anymore. "I'm going up to the North Mountain and I'm bringing Princess Elise with me...alone."

"No guards or servants?"

"No." Elsa pressed on before either of them could object. "I already have Kai and Gerda preparing supplies and luggage for our trip. After this meeting I will inform the Americans of tomorrow's cancellation personally. They'll get over it."

"And will Princess Anna be joining you two?" Jakobsen asked.

"No, and that brings me to my next point." Elsa tried to remove her hand from Anna's face, but the Princess whimpered and pulled it back. "During my absence, Princess Anna will be in charge."

"No," both men interrupted in unison.

"Rude, I'm right here, you know," Anna muttered in response.

Elsa ignored all three of them. "Yes, she will. And I want you two to be her personal advisers. It's time Princess Anna learned some responsibility and I want you two to guide her along the way. I'd trust no one else with this position. Do I have your support?"

"Of course, your majesty, you always do." The Admiral nodded in agreement with the Chancellor's words.

"Thank you. Just give her the help she needs and keep an eye on things for me. Don't hesitate to intervene if needed, but this is supposed to be a learning experience for the Princess. However, I've already informed her that it would be wise of her to follow your guidance, isn't that right, Anna?"

"Yes, sister," Anna answered obediently.

Elsa stood up from the table, the Princess following to keep her hand attached to her face. "Oh, and please keep her away from the Americans. I've arranged for the three of you and Kai to meet after dinner to plan out your schedule for this weekend. That is all, you're dismissed."

Elsa and Anna turned to go and as they reached the door, Chancellor Jakobsen called out behind them. "Queen Elsa, it's good to see you spending time with Princess Elise. Admiral Hoffman and I both greatly appreciate what she's done and she's deserves nothing less than spending as much time with you as possible. Please go enjoy your weekend with her."

Elsa turned around again. "Thank you, both." And then she was gone. At least this time the Queen gave them a warning before running off to the North Mountain.

* * *

It was nighttime now and the halls were dark. Elsa was walking towards her old room where Elise now slept. They were set to leave in the morning, but Elsa had a sudden urge to see Elise that she couldn't explain. So, here she was, right outside the snowflake adorned door of her old room.

Elsa silently pushed the door open and entered the dark room. Oddly, the room was barren of any of Elise's ice decorations and appeared through the darkness to be filled with Elsa's own stuff. Elsa paid no mind to these odd details as she slowly moved closer to the bed. A single ray of moonlight shined through the window onto Elise, illuminating her sleeping body perfectly.

Out of the corner of Elsa's eye, she caught the glint of metal in the shadows on the other side of Elise's bed. Before Elsa could react, a dark figure moved into the moonlight, dagger in hand. Elsa couldn't identify the assailant as her eyes were too busy following the dagger.

Elsa never had a chance to scream or act. She was stuck in place as the figure bent over Elise bringing the dagger to her sleeping sister's throat.

Elise never had a chance to wake up. The figure sliced the dagger across her throat. At the same moment, Elsa finally found the strength to do something. Before the dagger even finished the cut, Elsa let out a terrified scream and shot a bolt of magic at the assailant. The assailant was thrown back into the shadows, the bloody dagger flying across the room.

It was too late. By the time Elsa reached Elise she was already gone, blood already covered the sheets and her nightgown. It was covering Elsa now as she cradled Elise's lifeless body, too stunned to scream or move.

After what felt like an eternity, Elsa lowered Elise's body back onto the bed as anger started to rise within. Elsa could hear wet coughing coming from the assailant in the shadows. Elsa got off the blood-soaked bed, her hands now glowing as icy magic danced from her fingertips in anger. Elsa moved into the shadows towards Elise's killer, her magic casting out the darkness with a blue hue. She moved closer and closer until the light finally shown on the assailants face.

"No," she said out loud.

Elsa's fury disappeared and was replaced with horror and despair. Anna was sitting up against the wall, her face was pale and she'd been coughing up blood. Tears had been falling from her eyes. Elsa's eyes traveled down Anna's body and found a large icicle sticking out of her torso.

"W-why, Anna?" Elsa managed to ask though her sobs. Outside, a blizzard was raging on and the castle shook as giant spikes of ice broke through its foundation. The room was already frozen over.

Anna opened her mouth to speak. "I-I d-didn't want t-to..." Her eyes started to close. "...to lose you." Anna's head dropped down.

And then Elsa woke up.

* * *

Elise was on a mission. She had to get to Elsa. She increased the wind behind her, propelling herself as fast as she could skate through the tube of ice towards the burning ship and her twin. As she skated, Elise had a feeling of déjà vu, but she couldn't remember what this reminded her of.

Breaking out of the cell had been easier than she thought and thankfully she already was fairly close to the water. Elise knew the guards would try to go after her for escaping, so she had to get to the ship unseen. The only way to do that was to go under the fjord. So, when Elise reached the water's edge, she created an underwater tunnel of ice that extended all the way across the water to the ship, created a pair of ice skates, and entered the tunnel. Elise knew from experience at the North Pole that creating a gust of wind behind her in such tight quarters would propel her faster and Elise needed to go as fast as possible.

Before she knew it, Elise reached the end of the tunnel. She could feel she was directly under Elsa, though how she had that feeling was unexplainable. Elise sealed the end of the tunnel and used a pillar of ice to launch her upwards. Her sealed ice capsule broke through the bottom of the ship and several decks before it stopped. Elise had reached her destination.

Elise made a doorway and was instantly hit by a wave of heat. The instant the wave of heat hit her, Elise felt like a fog was starting to cloud her mind. She stepped out and found Elsa in the middle of a circle of flames. She was conscious.

_That's not right._

Elise remembered more now. Elsa was supposed to be unconscious. And everyone outside thought she was already dead. An old idea was starting to creep from the back of Elise's increasingly clouded mind.

Elsa's terror-stricken face brightened up when she saw Elise. "Elise, you've come to save me."

Elise was remembering more now, but her mind was becoming more clouded. Elsa had said Elise was the crown princess, the heir to the throne. The idea was tugging at her mind more and more and Elise was struggling to suppress it.

_Your own kingdom in your grasp, Elise..._

Elsa was trying to stand up. "Come on, Elise, you have to get us out of here."

Elise finally folded to the pressure. "Queen Elise broke out of her cell to save poor Elsa. She tried her best, but she failed to save the former Queen."

Elsa's face dropped. "What? Elise, what are you talking about?"

Elise grinned mischievously and shot Elsa back into the burning wall behind her. She screamed in pain, but Elise didn't stop as she covered Elsa's feet and hands with ice to restrain her to the wall. "Just to make sure you don't get out." Elise paused to think about it for a second. "On second thought," she impaled Elsa on a spike of ice causing her to cough up blood. "Now I'm sure you won't get out."

"Elise, please don't do this," Elsa pleaded as tears fell down her eyes.

Elise was now fully consumed by her fantasy. "Thanks for the kingdom, dear sister. I'll make sure to take _care_ of Anna for you." Elise had no intention of killing the Princess. Just a lifetime of torture.

Elsa's eyes widened in fear. Apparently the only thing Elsa feared worse than slowly burning to death while impaled on an icicle was Anna being harmed. _Good, let that be her last thoughts before she dies._

Elise turned around to go while Elsa screamed at her to leave Anna alone. Elise ignored her pleas.

Elise shot upright in bed. She was already crying and her body was covered in sweat as her mind struggled to understand the nightmare. She was equally disgusted at herself for ever having thoughts of killing Elsa to take over Arendelle as she was terrified at how close she came to losing Elsa before she even got a chance to get to know her. Elise couldn't have been more grateful for Anna stopping her on that first night.

Elise laid back down and tried to go back to sleep.

Neither twin would get a good night of sleep that night.

* * *

Morning came too soon with the sun just peaking over the horizon. A sled had been loaded up with supplies and was waiting for the Queen and her twin in the courtyard. However, there wasn't a horse or reindeer in sight.

"You won't get very far with that," Anna pointed out after finishing up her yawn. She had come out to see her older sisters off. She wanted to go back to bed but she figured since she was already awake she might as well stay awake considering her schedule for the day was due to start within the hour. She was already dressed for the part, she had chosen to wear a very similar dress to Elsa's coronation one. It was very non-Anna, but it made her look like a respectable monarch. Anna was not looking forward to her role as head of government during the Queen's absence, especially considering it was supposed to be the Chancellor's job. However, Anna was willing to accept her punishment for how she treated Elise.

"Right you are, Anna. I suppose we'll need something to pull us, don't you think Elise?" Elsa smiled at her twin mischievously.

Elise got the point, smiling mischievously too. _They are so cute together. Too bad they both look like crap._ Neither twin looked like they'd gotten much sleep.

"Whoa." Anna was struck with wonderment as Elise waved her hands and created two beautiful reindeer made entirely out of ice. More amazing than the fact that they were alive, was that they were perfect. No lumps, no unnatural lines, no jagged ice. Anna wasn't sure if Elsa could have pulled something like that off. Despite Anna and Olaf's persistence since her coronation, Elsa had refused to create anymore ice creatures. She wasn't comfortable doing it, especially after creating Marshmallow.

"It would have been easier if you made them," Elise said. "Then they would have already known where to go."

"I wish I could," Elsa mumbled under her breath. Anna could hear it because of her close proximity, but she doubted Elise had heard.

"What was that?"

"I said, it's okay, I'll make sure they know where to go," Elsa corrected herself, giving Elise a lopsided smile. "Besides, you're the nature twin."

_Nature twin? Well, that makes sense if Elise is the "nature twin" and Elsa isn't, Elsa isn't very good at making natural things, not that I'll ever admit that to her. I wonder what twin that makes her. Maybe the geometry twin._

"Anna," Elsa's voice cut through Anna's thoughts.

"Huh?"

"I'm trying to say goodbye." The ice-reindeer were already hooked up to the sled and the twins were ready to board. Elsa was standing in front of Anna.

"Oh, goodbye, Elsa." Anna wrapped her arms around her sister. "Be safe and enjoy yourselves."

"We will. Take care of Arendelle for me."

"I will."

"And no goofing off."

"Yes, Elsa."

"And listen to Jakobsen's advice. He knows what he's doing."

"Yes, Elsa."

"And no chasing after me this time."

"Okay, Elsa, jeez. I get it, just go already." Anna gave Elsa a playful shove out of their hug.

"Don't be nervous, it'll only be three days and there'll be plenty of people to help you out." Elsa climbed into the sled. "I'll miss you."

"I'll miss you, too."

Anna now locked her eyes on her other older sister. She'd been standing next to the sled, waiting for Elsa to board first while fiddling with her hands. Their eyes met, but Elise didn't move. Anna decided to take the initiative and walked over to Elise and threw her arms around her.

"Goodbye, Elise."

Elise was surprised, but she quickly returned the hug. "Oh, goodbye to you too, Anna."

"When you get back, maybe we can...spend some time together, without fighting?" _Two Elsa's really were better than one._

Elise smiled. "I'd love that." Elise climbed on to the sled and grabbed the reigns. Anna gave her older sisters one more wave as Elise ordered the sled forward. They both waved back, but Elsa turned around to continue as the sled turned to face its rear to Anna.

And then they were gone, away and beyond the castle gates. A single tear rolled down Anna's cheek as a feeling of emptiness took over her. It was only three days and she had Kristoff and Olaf to keep her company, but it felt like a scene out of her nightmares; Elsa gone for Anna to rule Arendelle without her. It was a horrible feeling that drove her to such madness over the past week that caused Anna's harsh treatment of Elise in the first place.

She didn't dwell on that feeling long, as she composed herself and turned to go inside with a smile now on her face. On the bright side, Elsa was actually coming back and Anna hadn't actually lost Elsa, but practically gained another Elsa with Elise. Elise could never replace Elsa, but they were so eerily similar, that they could have been the same person in Anna's eyes.

And it wasn't like Anna feared that they would be in danger. Elsa may have been timid with using her powers as weapon, but Elise sure wasn't.

_What could possibly happen between the two of them? _

* * *

**A/N: **Thanks to my two beta readers, like always.

If you're confused by Anna saying stuff like, "they're the same person", this chapter, it's because she's on to something. Elsa and Elise are not really twins. Elise and Elsa grew up in vastly different environments and if they were real identical twins, they'd be more different than they are in this fic because of the vast difference in environments. The best way to explain them is like this; one magic, two bodies. Elise and Elsa are one magical being split into two bodies that are meant to be together. It's also a yin and yang kind of thing too; asymmetrical (Elise) vs. symmetrical (Elsa), level-headedness (Elsa) vs. impulsiveness (Elise), good (Elsa) vs. "evil" (Elise), natural-oriented (Elise) vs. order-oriented ordered (Elsa) etc. And of course they share many other qualities and Anna was picking up on this.

But this is just a head canon thing and no one in the fic has any way of knowing this so for all intents and purposes they're twins. Anna was just pointing out that they're more than just twins. I have a whole headcanon figured out for their backstory too in which references will be included in this fic and I'll explain in the A/N throughout the updates only because the backstory explanation really has no place in this story otherwise.

If you prefer I don't explain it until the very very end because you want to try guessing, then let me know and I'll do that instead.

As for my two guest reviews:

_Ro:_ "OMG please, Elsa don't kill Elise or put her in the dungeon, just kill Anna."

Ouch, why no love for Anna?

_Seioh:_ You're kind of right, she was bitchy and I hope this explains why. And funny you mention that because I actually planned on "her time of the month" being one of the reasons, but decided not to try adding it in. But yeah, you can assume it's also Anna's "time of the month" even if it didn't make the chapter.

* * *

So this is the last chapter for a little bit. I'll be on vacation and will only have limited internet access. The next update could come as early as the next two to three weeks or as late as the end of August. It depends on how much I feel like writing while on vacation. Also since I can only get online only once in a while, it makes the editing process go by really slowly.

So if this is still the latest chapter and it's the end of July, don't think this fic is dead, it's not. It'll pick back up again in August and it has only just begun…


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